My Teen Romantic Comedy Diverged into the Gory Path
by Cheekygaya
Summary: Hikigaya Hachiman is never an optimistic person. 'Always expect the worst' is one thing that's been drilled into his cynical head since his child hood. But an unexpected turn of events turned his life upside down and made him realize that the 'worst things' that he's been dreading aren't that 'worst' at all.
1. Chapter 1

**Edited as of:** 12/20/17 for some sentence merging and some little changes.

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru and Tokyo Ghoul. Never did, never will be. All rights belong to their rightful owners. I'm just merely playing with their sandboxes here. Anyone who will sue me saying that I'm writing this for profit will get their waifus lewd-ed. I'm not kidding, lol.

 **Note** : First off, I'll clarify that this is mainly an Oregairu fanfic. I'll now warn you that I _might_ shamelessly leave some facts about the Tokyo Ghoul side so please don't flame me for that. Another one is, about the two resources' universe; I know that TG and Oregairu's worlds are in a completely different universe, but er, I'll work on it. Merging those two is this fic's main purpose after all.

Lastly, this is my very first fic so please be easy on me. I'll accept all the suggestions and constructive criticisms in the reviews so don't be afraid to leave at least one, don't worry, I don't bite.

 **CHAPTER ONE:**

 **Unfortunately,** _ **His**_ **Supposedly Boring Day Ended with a Baseball Bat Kissing His Face**

It was rare for someone like me who loves to stay at home to go outside. But no, I'm not a NEET, I'm still attending high-school. What I meant is that I'm not the type who will waste his fine time doing nonsense, no, I'm not like that. I would rather laze around at home with Vita-chan or sleep the whole day off. And yes, I'll repeat, I'm not a NEET.

 _But I didn't say that I'm not lazy did I?_

Being outside- or rather _hating_ to be outside. You might be wondering why I'm ranting this crap. Well, that's because I'm currently outside. _Ironic, I know_. I'm walking outside alone at nearly eight in the evening and I'm freezing my ass out. Not to mention it's January so the cold's biting pretty harshly. I have my scarf and coat on but it ain't doing their job properly to be honest. I wouldn't even be surprised if my snot turned to popsicles the moment I sneezed.

Now to answer your question: _What in the world does this energy-conservative bastard Hikigaya Hachiman ate to make himself roleplay a goddam frozen meatball?_ Well er, let's just say that I er, got on a party.

 _Heard that right. A party._

Believe me or not, I just got invited to one. _Or forcefully dragged, but that's not important._ And to shatter that creative imagination of yours- I'll say that I didn't do anything worth mentioning there. No body-grinding and no bum-smacking scenes. ( _…not that I care._ ) Anyway, if you're curious, I just stood there and played the part any legacy like me should do- breath in, breath out while blending in the background. _Man, I really should consider being an AC in the future._

We- or rather _they_ just idly chat there about nonsensical things like what normal teenagers do. And yes, maybe I no longer consider myself normal, _fortunately or unfortunately_. But I won't delve into that topic any further for I have a more important matter to settle.

 _I'm hungry_.

I only drank a goddam ginger ale back there for Chrissake and that's literally hours ago. I'm so hungry I could eat an elephant. _Literally, if it's stewed_. Problem is, I can't even go home yet, for my loving family decided to eat dinner outside without me.

 _Sigh, what a loving family indeed_.

Thing is, I left my keys at home. _Stupid, I know_. But blame the past me for being late and forgetting his keys in a hurry. Now I can't even enter my own house. _Stupid past me_.

I just have enough money in me to have dinner outside. On normal days, I would go to Saize without hesitation, but it's too crowded at this hour. And I had enough of crowd for today. So I decided to stroll around and find some other place to eat. That's when I stumbled upon this cafe called _Burgin and Brookes_ [1]. Pretty western name I must say. But I don't care the least bit of where I am eating. As long as the food's nice and all, we're good. The café's exterior is kind of shabby, though. Kinda like those pubs that you see in western movies; those places where you see divorced drunkards down gallons of beer while shouting at a certain pitcher in the television. But no, there're no divorced men and no drunkards, just a quiet and tranquil place to eat. _Perfect_.

I got in the cafe and sat beside the counter so I could watch some show in the TV. This place's got a pretty unique smell in it. I'm not that crazy about smells though so I won't explain any further. But it doesn't stink, I'll give you that.

Then a woman walked off to my direction. She looked like she's in her mid -twenties and she got this short bob cut hair. She's wearing a black apron over her white blouse.

 _I don't know that apron's a fashion statement now._

More importantly, why is she going here? Is she thinking that I'm some kind of creep? _Damn these eyes of mine._

As I'm musing over what excuse I'm going to tell her when she arrived, I saw something on her apron- _a nameplate._

 _Hi, I'm Anna._ It says. _Oh, a waitress, silly me._

Anna then got closer and she handed me the menu. "May I take your order, sir?" she asked. I just took the menu and skimmed through it. I wanted to eat something heavy, though. Maybe a rice dish? But since they don't have those, I'll settle for a peanut butter sandwich and a MAX Coff- _wait, what?_

"Excuse me, but don't you serve MAX Coffee here?" I asked, a little bit baffled that a store in Chiba doesn't serve it.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid we don't," she answered. _Seriously, lack of MAX Coffee in Chiba stores should be considered a crime. I really should petition_ _this._

"I'll take a peanut butter sandwich and a hot chocolate then."

"Certainly, sir, I'll bring your order shortly," she then took the menu and head over the counter. As I wait for my order to be served, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it out and glanced on the caller name to see who's calling. Or so I thought it is.

 _Is this even considered as a contact name?_

Now that I think about it, why the hell haven't I changed it yet? _Stars,_ bloody stars in the contact name. And no, it isn't me who did it. The caller is the culprit herself. Actually if not for those three letters named _YUI_ squeezed in this abomination, I would've rejected the call already. I clicked the answer button and placed it beside my ear.

"HIKKI!"

I could go on for years enumerating all of the characteristics of this airhead, but unfortunately, I don't have the luxury to do so.

 _Woman, might I remind you that you shouldn't shout over an effing phone!_

Ugh, have mercy in my eardrums.

"You don't have to shout, Yuigahama," I snarled, while rubbing my ear.

"Where are you? You just disappeared without telling anyone!" she bellowed, completely ignoring what I said. But that reminds me, I didn't tell anyone when I leave did I?

"Yeah, my bad. I just saw that you lot were having a lot of fun so I don't want to interrupt," I almost banged my head in the counter when I said that.

 _Damn, that sounded too depressing._

Yuigahama's tone changed into a soothing one. Like a mother consoling a depressed tyke.

"Stupid, you're not interrupting at all. You're invited you know? It's just that you decided to sit back there like an idiot that no one noticed you." _Yes , I know_. Yuigahama just called me _stupid_. And if someone's going to ask me the five things I hate the most, I'll say being called _stupid (and by Yuigahama!)_ is the third. But eh, Yuigahamas' Yuigahama, she says what she wants to say.

"Yeah, I understand. Sorry," I apologized. By the way, you know this thing called _being a man?_ It's stupid crap, _but useful anyway_. It mainly states that if a girl's mad at you, don't retaliate. It'll never turn out the good way. Worst you'll get hurt, emotionally and physically. Source: me.

"…is that Hikigaya-kun?" I then heard a familiar voice on the other side of the line. Too familiar it's almost annoying. I almost considered dropping the call when I heard it but Yuigahama interrupted me.

"Hikki, uhm, Yukinon wanna talk to you," I just said _sure_ and I heard some shuffling.

"Hello?" a soothing voice reverberated in my speaker. Unlike Yuigahama, her voice is a lot better by a lot of times. _Not that I'll tell her though._

"Yo," I answered crudely. _Phone manners? What was that?_ Then she talked in a very mocking tone.

"My, I thought at first that you're just blending in the background like the _chameleon_ you are. But it seems that you left already. Did the crowd scare you that much that you can't even finish the party?"

"Contrariwise, I think they're the one who's disturbed. I'm just being considerate. Don't want to ruin the mood by me being there," I responded sarcastically. Heck, I knew I had it coming. There's no way Yukinoshita will let such an opportunity pass to insult me.

"You're going home now?" I asked, though I could still hear the music playing in the background. I still asked anyway, just for the sake of talking.

"No, not yet," she said. "Yuigahama-san won't let me leave. But we'll finish shortly. You?"

"Ah no, I stopped by a nearby café to grab a bite. Komachi and my parents are having dinner out tonight and I left my keys at home," I explained so she won't ask for it.

"Oh," she giggled. "You left your keys? Just how stupid can you be?" Hold up mate, is it the _Call Hikigaya Stupid day_? This gag's really getting on my nerves now!

"Alright, I'm stupid. Happy?" I asked, not minding if a bit of annoyance tinged in my voice. _This woman really needs to learn some restraint with her insults…_

"Looks like someone's having a bad day," she murmured. "Alright then I won't waste your time any further, I'm just merely checking out on my _club mate's_ well-being. But it seems like I'm too much of a bother that he can't even take a simple joke. I'll pass the phone to Yuigahama-san now, go home safely." _Oh boy._

"Ah wait, Yukin-"

"Hikki, what did you do?!"

"Oi, I didn't do anything, I swear! She's the one who started it…I just retorted back, damn it," I answered frustrated. You remember what I told you about that thing called _being a man_? Scratch that being called a stupid crap. Make sure you drill that into your head if you don't want to end up in the same situation I was in.

"Seriously, you just spent three minutes talking over the phone and you ended pissing her off. Just how bad can you be?" she asked like she doesn't really know. _Wait, she doesn't really know, does she?_

"If it will satisfy your curiosity, I'll let you know that my mum always gets upset whenever we talk over the phone. She doesn't really call me now."

"I don't know why but I felt like I can sympathize with her somehow," she murmured. "Anyway, I'm gonna bother- I mean talk to Yukinon now because she seemed really upset… gosh, you must have really screwed up this time, just look at her. Okay, bye-bye now!" She said then ended the call. I don't know why but something that she just said made me dread meeting Yukinoshita on Monday. What is it again? Ah, nevermind. I chucked my phone back in my pocket and reached for the water jug. My throat's got really dry.

 _I wonder how those riajuus manage to talk over the phone for so long._

After I chugged down a glass of water, I peeked over to see that my order isn't up yet. What did that _Anna_ say again? _"I'll bring your order shortly"?_ Shortly, my ass! Just what kind of service do you have here? If a starving man went over here to eat, he would likely die before he even got his order.

While waiting for years for my order to come, I decided to kill time by recalling what happened in the party earlier. A lot of people attended, even that certain riajuu's clique. I had a little fun though, if not for that said riajuu ruining my mood. Ranting about how people's expectations are burdening him and how we are completely different to each other. _Like hell I care_.

Finally, Anna came back with my order. She said _"Sorry for the wait sir, our cook just had a little problem in the kitchen."_ I just paid it off, no tip. Like hell I will give this café any incentives. _And I don't really give tips anyway so that's not important._

I began to wolf down my sandwich. _Man, I'm so hungry_. It's passable I'll admit. But this hot choco's superb! I'll atleast give them that. _MAX's still the best, though._

The guy inside the counter then picked up the remote and began shuffling through the channels. Thank the Buddha he did. It's sickening to watch some muscle-y guy wearing a dress with fairy wings. Man, and the act of _picking fallen teeth on children's pillows_ just did the trick. I'm absolutely disturbed. _Just imagine waking up in the middle of the night with an ex-wrestler tooth fairy in front of you_. The movie's not that bad but definitely not my type.

He then settled the channel to some local news.

The show got this pretty annoying anchor. She's too young to be one, I think. But what irked me is the way she stretches her syllables.

 _You're reminding me of some high-level dungeon monster at Sobu, damn it!_

It's so unsettling that I considered to just focus on eating. But, then the anchor's tone got serious and she said something interesting.

"Several unidentified male bodies are found in the Aqua building, a commercial facility in the 20th ward of Tokyo."

Whoa, well that's something you don't hear at news every day. _A massacre, maybe_? I never thought that Japan's got these crazy lunatics running around here. Tch, scratch that, of course there're always lunatics anywhere. Who knows? Even I can be one.

I lost interest in watching and just finished my meal. I straightened up my coat and got out of the café.

 _Farewell shitty café, you won't ever be remembered._

It's now already quarter to nine so I'm sure Komachi and my parents will be home too by the time I arrived. I decided to walk home, my house's already nearby already and I won't be able to grab a cab at this hour here.

 _Damn, this part of Chiba's too deserted._

I readjusted my scarf as the wind blew up again. _Cold, really cold_. I'm sure I'll get sick. It's Friday anyway so there're will no classes tomorrow. I'll just rest over the weekend and hope to recover by Monday.

As I walked through, I saw a guy in a trench-coat standing by an alley. He's got sunglasses on.

 _Bloody sunglasses in the middle of the night!_

 _What's with this guy?_ I've no idea if he's blind or what and I don't really care. He's creepy. I crossed the other side of the road so I won't pass through him. But then, he also crossed. _Damn, I got a really bad feeling about this._

I just continued walking without sparing a glance at him. I passed through and I sighed in relief. But before I could relax my tensed shoulders, someone got a hold of them.

I don't even need to turn around to know who the hell did it.

He's got a very firm grip. I won't even get a chance to break off even if I wanted to.

"I don't have money, sir," I said monotonously, trying to conceal my fear. He just got closer and I got the chance to have a good look of he's face. A crooked nose and a beard- lots of them. He's taller than me. He even looked foreign.

The said man then got close to my ear and whispered something, in English.

"I don't need your money, boy. Someone's asked me to fetch you. Just business, no hard feelings," I'm not that stupid so I at least understood what he said. I answered back, in Japanese, because I know that he can understand me.

"What if I refuse, sir?"

The man then chuckled and said, "You've got no right to refuse, my client has already filled me up with a lot of dough just for you. Man, you must be a really important one huh?"

I'm so scared I can't even move an inch. But I steeled myself to talk back.

"Sir, I need to go home now, will you please let me go," I said with as much politeness as possible, hoping that he'll just say _"okay"_ and let me go.

He just gripped my shoulder harder and I can swear I heard my coat tear up.

"Okay kid, you've got two choices: Either you go with me with no trouble at all, or I'll bash you're head off and carry your unconscious body. Whaddya' want? " he whispered threateningly, worsening my fear.

"Please," I squeaked.

"I'll give you three seconds."

"Three…" _Thing is, my parents aren't always home so I kinda miss them, especially mum. I want to spend more time with her. Hang out like what normal mothers and their children do._

"…two," _plus, I got Komachi, she's trying her hardest lifting her arse so she can go to the same school as me. I atleast want to see her efforts pay off._

"…one," _there's also the girls in the club. I love them, though not romantically. They're important to me. So I at least don't want my silly life to end now. No, at least not today._

Surprisingly, the man lost his grip on my shoulder and I readied myself for the sprint of my life.

But then a sudden impact collided with the back of my head. The last thing I heard is a sickening crack and I gradually felt dizzy, making me lost my balance.

Lying on my back I can see his face, clad with the evilest grin I can imagine. In his hand is a baseball bat aimed straight at my face. Just another swing of that damned bat and I completely passed out.

 _Sorry everyone, looks like I'm not hard headed enough._

TBC

 **References**

[1] Burgin and Burkes. Cheers for the HP reference!

 **Note:** Okay, I know, I just ended my very first work with a cliff hanger. I'm sorry, I just can't help it! But I promise that I'm already working on the continuation so you can look forward to it. (… if someone's reading it, that is.)

Again, please leave reviews so I can work on the things I need to improve on.

See ya'.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru and Tokyo Ghoul. No matter how much I complain about not owning them, my dreams will remain in my fantasies.

 **Note:** Okay, I know it's annoying to read the author's notes before reading, but please just bear with me for now, this'll be the last time I'll do it. First I want to thank all of the reviews you gave me, they're all extremely helpful! Especially to those guys who pointed out that Hikki is NOT English. (That review really took a chunk out of me though, lol.) You see, I used to write mock HP fanfics in the past so I thought it'll be _cool_ to have Hikki inherit some of Harry's antics. But eh, it doesn't appeal to you guys so I'm currently doing some revising in my first chapter. (That's how much I love you all! XD)

Next is also about the review of **HuntyPlay**. I want to thank you for pointing that problem out, I really appreciated it. I know it sounded silly, but I really used to write like _that_. But I'm now trying to merge some of the sentences together like what I've done here in chapter two. Please tell me how you feel about it.

That's all I want to say. So with all that out of the way, let's get on to the continuation!

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWO**

 **Sadly, _He_ 'll Never Know What Hit Him**

* * *

Feeling pain is never always a bad thing. To be frank, feeling pain is actually a blessing to us humans- _but no, not in the masochistic way_. What I meant is that we are lucky to be exposed to the pains of life since of young age. And I don't mean painful only in the physical aspect- I meant all the pain we accumulate as we live on- both _physically_ and _emotionally_.

 _Now, as to why feeling pain is not that bad in the first place_? Well you see, the world's not fair, and it'll never be. Anyone will definitely live their lives feeling disappointments and regret, which is in hindsight, is some form of pain. And by feeling this pain, we evolve, as we're naturally evolving creatures. You feel pain for a long time and you'll end up developing resistance. This _resistance_ , however, is the one good thing _feeling pain_ will benefit you. You can also call it pain-killers if you want. Anyway, these pain-killers will act as your hard-shell protection whenever life decides to throw you _lemons_. Moreover, this resistance will also be both your best offense and defense in this gruesome battlefield of life. Just like a RPG character, the stronger your resistance gets, the higher your chance of surviving.

If you're still having trouble following around, let me make it simple:

These resistances, pain-killers, or whatever else you want to call it, in other words, is just another term for the state of _being numb._

 _Like a stupid guy who got injected with a ton of anesthesia._

 _But that's not too bad, is it? After all, getting numb is better than feeling pain… right?_

* * *

One good thing about us loners is our ability to distract ourselves in our current situation with the help of our minds. We might look like we're just staring-off the distance or dozing off, but in reality, we're completely lost in our own world of musing, without the least bit care in the world.

Now as to why I'm currently engaging myself to my self-preaching tendencies? Let's just say that I'm trying to distract myself.

 _What is it again? Ah, right, I'm in pain…_

… _damn, just thinking about it hurts._

I'm currently lying in a bed placed in an unfamiliar room. _A hospital?_ Considering all the medical equipments this room's got here, I can safely assume that I'm in some sort of medical institution. Looking around, I also noticed how grandiose this room was; an eight tatami-mat wide one with a cozy looking sitting area in the left side of the room. It even got a sixty-four inch flat-screen TV! _Wow, grandiose indeed._

But we'll deal with that later, because I have a very important question to ask,

 _Just what the hell am I doing here?_

I propped myself in the pillow to look at my state; _I see, limbs are still intact_. I'm wearing a flimsy pair of clothing. _Probably the hospital stuff_. Peeking through my buttoned shirt, I saw that my torso has a lot of bandages on them. I also noticed that I got some bundled in my head too.

I unconsciously ran my fingers on my bandaged head- it's surprisingly thick. The bandages, I mean.

 _Looks like I had it hard._

Well there's no helping it, whatever that was, it already happened. No point crying over spilt milk…

… _or is it severely damaged body? Man I think I really should cry._

As my eyes began to get glossy from this thought, the door opened, revealing a small figure of a girl I've known for fifteen years.

The said girl is wearing a sailor uniform of a middle-schooler. She's carrying a bag of fruits and a bunch of flowers in her other hand. The moment she opened the door, she saw me, then as if seeing a ghost, took a large step back while dropping her things.

She seemed to be in a complete dazed state because she's not saying anything. I might as well break the ice. But even before I open my mouth, she spoke.

"Y-you're awake," she squeezed between sobs.

I noticed how different her voice sound; like I haven't heard it in the fifteen years we've been together. But now that I realized, I haven't even saw her _this_ sad in the past. I clumsily scratched the back of my head and responded.

"Oh, I guess I am."

The moment I said that, she ran through me. Like a koala meeting her very first tree, she latched onto my shoulders, crying uncontrollably. I put my hand in her head and patted her awkwardly.

* * *

Moments have passed and we just stayed like that, not a care in the world. I can already feel needles picking through my legs so I told her to let go. _Man, she is heavy_. She finally got off, while wiping her tears. It made me wonder, how long was I out? Is it just me or Komachi looked different? Ugh, that's not important.

"So," I started. "Where are we? I already assumed that it's a hospital, but where's this place, exactly?"

"Sigh, that's Onii-chan for you, ruining the mood the moment it kicked in," she answered in mock spite.

"Oh shut it," I retorted. "Just tell me, I'm curious."

"You must be wondering why you're in such a luxury room, huh?" she mumbled. "Well whatever, we're in Funabashi General Hospital. Dad wants to get you in a nearby hospital, but Mr. Cowfield insisted to check you in here. "

"Wait, Funabashi? And who's this Mr. Cowfield?" I asked. _Funabashi is way too far at home, why the hell am I here?_

"Ah, he's the one who hit you," she answered. That's my little sister for you; you won't get your answers unless you ask her to explain it properly.

"Now this is getting confusing," I cut her off. "Will you explain from the start? You're being way too vague."

"Alright then," she agreed while walking through the door to pick her fallen things up. "But you might want to get something to drink, this'll be a really long story," she said as she passed me a can of fruit juice.

"Hey, don't you have some coffee out there? I would like some," I requested.

"Nope, coffees aren't allowed. Settle for that," she refused while dragging a chair near my bed.

"Fine."

* * *

"So you're saying that I got hit by a car?"

 _Man, talk about unlucky. It's not even been three years and I got hit again._

"Again," she affirmed simply.

"Right, sorry."

"Don't be. Anyway, Mr. Cowfield said that he hit you in a street of Ichinomiya at about near midnight. Midnight, Onii-chan! What're you doing strolling around that late?" she angrily asked.

"I don't know. Can't remember anything," I said _. It's true though, I really have no idea how I got here_.

Komachi slumped her shoulders and said, "Well that's reasonable, you're in a pretty bad shape that time after all."

I gulped, "H-how bad?"

Komachi noticed my unease and explained in a comforting manner, "I really can't understand those fancy words the doctor's saying but I can say that you've got pretty messed up. Don't worry, you're all good now though, you even woke up after two weeks."

"Wait, say what again? _Two weeks_?" I choked.

"Hmmm," she hummed in affirmation, though I could see a noticeable glint of sadness in her eyes. I know she had it hard, having her older brother be in a coma for weeks.

 _But eh, there's something more important._

"Wow."

She looked at me as if I have grown another head and asked, "What 'wow'?"

I smiled at her and took an indignant pose, "I slept for two weeks, little sis. That sets the record!"

That did it, she looked at me as if I'm a complete trash, "You're hopeless," she mumbled.

"Oh shuddup," I retorted. "Anyway, what about this place? Bet this charges pretty expensive."

"I know right! They even got this really awesome garden; this place looks more of a hotel than a hospital!"

"Oi, you're getting sidetracked," I reminded her.

"Right, so as I said, you got checked in Funabashi, pretty high class don't you think? Anyway, you know dad, he's dead worried and all but he's still sane enough to just want you to be treated at a nearby hospital. But Mr. Cowfield-"

"I take it this Cowfield's the guy who hit me, yes?" I cut her off.

"Yes" she nodded. "But Mr. Cowfield insisted to check you here, saying they've got better facilities and stuff. He even paid all of the expenses before mum and dad can even complain. He's so nice about it."

"Yeah, so nice for giving me a good smacking," I retorted begrudgingly. _I don't know why but this Cowfield person ticks me the wrong way._

Komachi looked as if she has something to say but she just nodded, "It's an accident Onii-chan."

"Anyway, I got something that'll sure brighten up your mood!" she told me while waving her arms in an exaggerated fashion.

"What now?" I asked, not really in the mood to deal with her antics.

She straightened up her back and asked, "Guess who decided to visit you while you're being a complete deadbeat here?"

"What?"

"Come on, just guess!" she insisted.

"Mum and dad?"

"Besides them!"

"Hiratsuka-sensei?"

"The heck," her bright smile faltered. "The fact that you thought of her really bothered me Onii-chan. No kidding."

I smirked, "Chill, I'm just messing with you. So er, I guess it's the club?"

I regretted not covering my ears as she bawled, "Bingo!"

"What's the big deal? I'm their club member, so of course they'll visit." I said. _Seriously, she's always making a big deal out of things._

Komachi looked ready to hit me but decided to just retort back, "Visit? They came every day, Onii-chan! That's hardly visiting! And besides, those three bothering to visit you despite how far this place was is really saying something! "

 _Behold, girls' bizarre stance of taking a complete 180 from being irritated to getting excited._

But eh, she's getting excited over a troublesome matter. Might as well diverge this topic.

"Three? I only got two club mates."

"Hehe," she laughed befitting of an evil yordle. "You know Onii-chan, how come you managed to coax a girl on my back? Not to mention that she's student council president!"

"Ishikki?" I asked. "Ugh, two things sis: First I didn't coax her, I didn't coax anybody! Second, you knew her already. Remember that talk we had with Totsuka and the others?"[1]

Komachi looked thoughtful for a second and asked, "Oh, so that's her, huh?"

"That figures," she added. Is it just me or is there some sort of bitterness in her tone? Whatever, I've got no business in girls' troubles. _Unless you hurt my Komachi, you'll definitely get beaten up._

I already lost interest in talking, but Komachi still looked like she still wanted to talk. I looked through the room to find some distraction, but my stomach decided to give me one.

"Oh," she giggled. "Looks like someone's hungry."

"Can't help it, I haven't eaten anything for weeks."

"Okay~ I'll just head out and ask the nurse to bring you some food. You need anything else?"

"Some pain-killers will be great," I complied, feeling my head getting drilled.

Komachi put up a thumbs-up and headed through the door. She looked back as she picked up her bag.

"I'll also ring mum and dad, saying you're finally awake," she flashed an evil grin. "Bet they'll be crazy."

"Alright, just don't overdo it," I said, as she closed the door.

* * *

I plopped back in bed and decided to take a short nap. I few moments later, the nurse knocked in the room carrying my trayed meal and some pain-killers.

"Glad you've woken up, sir," the nurse said while handing me the tray.

"Thank you."

"How do you feel?" she asked as she plucked out my dextrose.

"A little dizzy, but all in all, I'm good."

"Well that's great news. Drink these pain-killers as you finished eating, I'll drop by again to take the dishes. Eat up," she said as she head out of the room.

"Itadakimasu," I prayed as I eat my meal of salmon with mushroom sauce, eggplant and beef, seaweed salad, soba noodles, broccoli, and rice. _I haven't felt this happy in my whole life eating in a hospital!_

As I savor the celebratory food in front of me, the door opened up again. What the- _I just started eating Nurse-san!_ As I looked through the door to see who came, my vision's got completely blocked and I got into an embrace worthy of being called 'rib-cracking'.

"Hachiman, oh my dear boy Hachiman. I-im so worried!" the culprit buried her face in my shoulder and bawled her eyes out.

"U-uh, mum?" I managed to speak. _Darn it mum, you're making this awkward!_

But then I heard dad as he threw me a lifeboat, "Calm down Haruhi, he's just woken up."

After hearing dad, mum finally let go of me and straightened her office coat. _But fear not, the show still wasn't over._

"So Hachiman, how do you feel?" mum asked while peeking closely at me.

"Peachy," I answered simply, which earned a frown from mum.

"Pardon?" she asked irritated.

I stumbled upon my words as I saw her stern demeanor, "I-I mean I'm fine now, mum."

Mum seemed to accept my answer and started debriefing me again, "Do you feel anything unusual at all? How's your head? Is your vision blurry? Can you hear me prope-"

"Haruhi," dad cut her off gently. "He said he's fine, right? The doctor will drop by anyway so let him eat for now."

Mum seemed embarrassed but decided to play it cool, "Fine then, go on and eat."

* * *

Mum and dad stayed while I eat, chatting about work and whatnot. I just watched them- I don't know why but seeing them here warms my heart a little. But now that I think about it, this scene already happened in the past, right through my very first day of high school. I still remember that day clearly, the way I tackled a car to save a dog. I broke a leg that day and got hospitalized for about three weeks. The second my mum and dad heard the news, they got off from work and stayed with me the whole day. They looked so worried I almost felt bad for them. The way mum hugged me as if making sure I won't suddenly disappear clenched my long-forgotten heart. That also gave me a glimpse of that so-called 'unseen bond' within family members that makes you feel the pain of one another.

As I'm busy immersing myself to these sentiments, we suddenly got a knock on the door.

"Come in," mum said.

The door opened up and the doctor came in. He looked old, with all those gray hairs he's sporting.

"Good evening," he greeted my parents, earning a polite response from mum and a simple nod from dad.

He then craned his neck and looked at me, "Glad you're now awake, fella," he said to me.

"Glad to be awake too," I jested.

"So how's our patient doing?" he asked professionally, acting like the professional he is.

"A little dizzy. My head hurts when I woke up but the pain-killers did their job," I answered.

The doctor looked thoughtful, "Hmm, a little disorientation after waking up from a coma is normal. Either way, I'm glad. It's always great to see my patients getting better."

"Thank you for your hard work," I thanked him sincerely. _If not for this nice man, I would've died by now._

"You're welcome, so you might be wondering about how you ended up in that state, are you not?"

"Oh yes, my sister already gave me a rough idea but I still would like the whole story from you," I said, honestly curious.

Mum looked uncomfortable and spoke suddenly, "Uhm, doc? I don't think it's really necessary to tell him, is it, dear?"

 _Here we go again, playing the Hikigaya is still a kid so let's keep it from him game. What a pain._

"Mum," I spoke with determination. "If you're worrying that I might be too _sensitive_ to hear whatever Mr. Doctor's about to say, I'll ask you to please drop that thought. It's okay, I can handle it."

"But Hachiman-"

"Please? Besides, I'm curious too." I pleaded.

Mum looked defeated and heaved a sigh, "Fine."

"Fire away, doc," I said, earning a smirk from him.

"So, Hikigaya-kun, you're now aware that you got hit by a car, aren't you?" he asked me.

"Yes, my sister told me."

"Good. The damage you got is pretty bad. You got some serious internal injuries including damage to bowels, kidneys and the spleen. We performed an operation for that to repair the damage. You also lost some high amount of blood so we have to find a donor, which, if you're wondering, is your loving father," he said as he pointed at dad, who just nodded embarrassedly.

"Other than a simple bump at the back of your head, you've got no other things to worry about. We'll just run some tests with you tomorrow and you're good to go," he added.

"Thank you so much doctor," mum thanked him sincerely.

"It's my job after all," he waved off. "Anyway, Hikigaya-kun, have you eaten already?"

"Yes, doc, aren't I supposed to?" I asked.

"No, no, you can eat now. I'll just ask if you have any problems eating because I'm afraid the operation might have a side-effect," he said as mum shot me a worried look.

"No problems doc, I'm eating just fine," I assured them and mum sat back down with a relieved sigh.

The doctor looked surprised for a second but I'm sure it's just the trick of the light.

"Oh," he smiled. "Is that so. Well, that's good then."

Suddenly, the door opened with a bang and a panicked looking nurse came in.

"Kanou-sensei! We need you at room 214 now, hurry!" she shouted.

Something must be up, the doctor quickly waved goodbye to my parents and got out of the room, mumbling something I can't quite catch.

 _Must be hard being a doctor._

* * *

I just sat back down there as the doctor left. I planned to take a short nap but dad called me.

"Hachiman,"

"Yes, dad?"

"I uh," he trailed off. He looked through mum who looked slightly… upset? "I hope you don't mind but a police officer will drop by here later to ask you some questions."

 _Heh, so that's why mum's upset._

"Don't sweat it dad, I don't mind," I assured him.

"Good," he sighed. "Go on take a nap for now. I'll wake you up when he arrived."

* * *

You know what I hate the most? It's getting woken up five minutes just before I slept!

 _Damn it dad, you call it a nap!?_

Mum placed a hand on my arm and said, "I know you're tired dear, just put up with him for now and you can rest later."

I nodded to her.

"Good evening, Hikigaya-kun," the officer greeted.

"Good evening."

"I'm sorry for the trouble," he apologized while scratching the back of his head. "I'll just ask you a few questions."

"It's no problem, sir," I assured the slightly uncomfortable cop.

 _Please stop glaring at him mum!_

"That's good. So uh, do you by any chance, remember anything that happened before you got hit by a car?" he asked me cautiously while taking a notepad from his pocket.

"Sorry sir, I got nothing," I answered simply.

"Anything?" he insisted.

 _Sir, I'll gladly tell you if I remember, but no I really don't._

"Completely blank."

"I see," he said, somewhat looking disappointed. "You see, we ran an investigation if you don't mind."

"Investigation?" I asked curiously.

"Yes," he confirmed. "We asked some people who might know your whereabouts last January 13th- and that is some of your friends, Yukinoshita-san and Yuigahama-san."

I wanted to retort about the one he just called my _friend_ really rejected my offer to be one, but I stopped myself. _Now's not a good time for this._

"You see, your friends told me that you went to a party that night at some pub, can you remember that?" he asked.

 _Party. What party?_ I'm not one of parties- heck it was even rare for someone like me who loves to stay at home to go outside! [2] But wait, I think I catch something…

"Is it the after-party we got after the marathon at school?" [3] I asked him.

"Yes!" he answered brightly. "So can you remember where you go after that?"

I racked my brain for naught.

"No, sorry."

"It's okay," he assured me. "Yuigahama-san told me that she called you at about 8:42 in the evening and you told her that you went into some sort of a café nearby. I assume you don't remember that?"

I nodded in affirmation.

The officer nodded thoughtfully and said, "You see, the only problem we got here is that Cowfield-san told us that he accidentally run-over you on Ichinomiya at about 11:30. Isn't the time you left the café-"

As the officer's explaining, the door opened up and a certain woman with a look as if she's in a life and death predicament came in.

"HIKKI!?"

Yuigahama emerged from the door with an embarrassed-looking Yukinoshita on tow.

"A-ah, sorry," Yuigahama saw the weird looks we're giving her and apologized with a face as red as a tomato.

Yukinoshita walked through my parents and bowed, "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Hikigaya."

My parents nodded and motioned the both of them to sit down. Dad looked at Mr. Officer and gestured him to continue.

"Ehem," the officer cleared his throat to get our attention. "So as I'm saying-"

But as the poor officer started to explain again, someone's phone rang, interrupting him. The officer looked irritated at first, but he realized that it's his phone which's ringing.

"I'm sorry, I'll just take it up for a bit," he apologized as he head out the door.

"Yukino-chan?" my mum asked suddenly as the officer left, making Yukinoshita jump.

"Y-yes?"

"Didn't I tell you girls to call me Auntie?" she asked.

Wait-wait-wait! What the heck's with this? _Auntie? Are you mad mum!?_

"Oh," Yukinoshita said. "Yes, A-untie."

My mum smiled brightly as the club girls looked in my direction.

Dad cleared his throat all of a sudden, "I guess we'll go get some fresh air outside."

Mum looked at dad as if he was a complete idiot, "What? The air's perfectly fine here. We got AC."

"No, we'll go," dad insisted.

"But-"

"We'll go," dad said one last time as he caught mum's hand and dragged her out of the room.

"How adorable," Yuigahama suddenly said. _Adorable? More like stupid._

"I agree," Yukinoshita backed her up. _Why do you always agree on weird things Yukinon!?_

"Anyway," Yukinoshita added. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than before, the doctor told me that I'll be free to go tomorrow."

"That's great news, Hikki," Yuigahama chimed in. "And by the way, Iroha-chan said she's sorry she can't visit you today. You know~, president duties and stuff. But she wanted me to give this to you."

She handed me a card with sickly looking designs. Just looking at it makes me feel nervous, _no no, there's no way I'll read this in front of them_

"I guess I'll open this later," I said, saving myself from another dilemma.

"You better," Yukinoshita agreed. "We won't know what she'd write there, so spare me the shame."

I smiled at her as I pocketed the card. _I get what you're feeling Yukinon._

"So uh," I decided to start a conversation. "How's the club?"

"Same old, same old. We managed to fulfill the requests, but it's still more fun with the three of us," Yuigahama said sadly.

Yukinoshita noticed Yuigahama's tone and tried to console her, "But he's awake now, isn't he? I'm sure he can attend his duties the moment he got back to school."

She looked at me weirdly and added, "Unless he wanted to stay here for the rest of his life being the scum he is."

I tried to looked amazed, "Amazing. Say, are you an _esper_?"

The two looked at me blankly then started murmuring sentences on the lines of "He's actually thinking that?" and "How hopeless".

Then as if distracting herself, Yuigahama began to rummage the paper-bag she's been holding, "Oh, right Hikki. We've bought you fruits!"

She took out the contents of the paper-bag and placed those assorted fruits on the tray in my bedside table.

"You don't have to bother buying, you know?" I said, pointing at the fruits Komachi bought.

"It's the least we can do," Yukinoshita said to me and Yuigahama nodded.

 _Like I don't know that you two visited me every day, huh?_

"Well thank you," I still thanked them, earning nods from both sides.

As Yuigahama finished setting up the fruits, we got another knock on the door.

"Come in," Yukinoshita said, visibly showing her attitude of always letting people in our club room as always.

Mr. Officer came in the room with an apologetic look on his face.

"Hello," he said. "I'm sorry Hikigaya-kun, but I'm afraid we'll have to postpone our little _talk_ for now. I got some problems at work."

"No problem sir," I assured him.

"Thank you for your time," he said as he head through the door.

 _"…damn that gourmet."_ I heard him grumble, though I'm not sure what he's talking about.

And with that, he waved the three of us goodbye and left the room.

Yukinoshita stood up and grabbed her things, "We'll be going now too, Hikigaya-kun, we still need to catch up on the train."

"Right," Yuigahama stood up. "We're leaving now, Hikki."

I watched them as they put on their coats. They waved me goodbye, and started to walk through the door.

"Hey," I called out to them. "Be careful on the road."

"I mean it," I added.

Yukinoshita smirked, understanding my humor, "Warning from the _expert_ himself, huh? I'll remember that."

"See ya' Hikki!" Yuigahama waved me goodbye as they left the room.

* * *

It doesn't take too long before my parents came back as the club girls left.

Mum entered the room with a sickeningly wide grin on her face. She looked _really_ eager to say something. Finally she collected herself and asked me.

"So, how did it go?"

"Haruhi," dad called her.

"Did you make sure to thank them for their efforts?"

"Haruhi."

"You know? I'm really dead-set for Yui-chan, but Yukino-chan's so cute! I can't decid- "

"Haruhi, for the love of god, this isn't the time for that," dad stopped her making mum embarrassed.

"Sorry, got carried away," she apologized. "Anyway, Hachiman, we'll be leaving now too. Komachi is out in her friend's place for a school project so I'll be the one cooking dinner. We'll drop by tomorrow to pick you up, okay? Just rest for tonight."

She hugged me tightly then she set off to take her bag. Heading through the door, she noticed that dad's not following along. She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I'll talk to him for a bit," dad told her.

Mum looked surprised for a second but then smiled and nodded, "Alright, I'll wait for you at the car park. Bye Hachiman."

Dad looked at me as mum left the room.

He smiled gently at me and asked, "So son, what did we learn today?"

"Uhm, that mum gets really giddy when it came to my friends?"

"No, not that," he told me quickly. "I mean what did _this ordeal_ taught you?"

"Ah, that" I scratched my cheek. "I learnt to be a lot more careful from now on."

"And?"

"And to not stroll around Ichinomiya at the middle of the night," I added.

Dad smirked as he head through the door, "You know Hachiman? I'm the one the hospital's first informed when they brought you here."

"Must be hard on you, huh?" I said as I made an apologetic face.

"Nearly gave me a heart-attack," he said. _Wait is dad really showing his sentiments?_

"God knows what your mum will do if something really bad happened to you," he added. "So don't do it again, okay?" _Ugh, I feel so stupid to ask that._

He's halfway through the door now, waiting for my answer.

 _Might as well assure him._

"Alright dad," I flashed him a thumbs-up. "I promise."

* * *

In some bar at the Chiba prefecture, while Hikigaya Hachiman is sound asleep in his room, a lone woman began to stir up in her cocktail.

" _What's taking that geezer so long?"_ the woman thought, as she watch a couple of drunkards got kicked out of the bar.

She's supposed to meet up with a certain man to hear his report, but he sure is taking his time.

" _I thought doctors ought to be always punctual,"_ she mused as she once again took a sip of her drink.

Not long after she finished drinking all of the contents of her glass, an old man with a lot of white hair walked through her.

"I'm sorry. I got caught up in something," he apologized as he took a seat across her.

"Spare me the small talk old man. So how is it?" she asked with a bright smile on her face.

The man looked uncomfortable for a second but then recollected his guts and answered, "I got a good news and a bad news, what do you want first?"

The woman put a finger to her chin and took a thinking pose.

"I'd like the good one first," she decided.

The man nodded and took an envelope in his briefcase and handed it to her.

"Kaneki Ken, 19 years old, a current colle-"

"I don't care about his personal info," she cut him off.

"Right, so as you can see, he got on an _accident_ together with Kamishiro Rize, a ghoul."

The woman's eyes glowed as she heard that.

"Go on, continue," she told him.

"Both of them had serious internal injuries and we managed to save the boy by transferring Kamishro's undamaged organs to him."

"The boy survived," he continued. "He even woke up now."

"So, is there something else worth mentioning about him?" the woman asked with enthusiasm.

"Yes," he answered. "He said that his sense of taste changed."

The woman looked at him straight in his eyes, "Changed? In what way?"

"He said that his food tastes _slimy_ ," the old man said with a triumphant smile.

"Good," the woman told him. " _So, he's a success, huh?"_ she thought.

"How about the _other one_?" she asked, emphasizing on her last word.

This time, the man looked down looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Well," he started. "He's the bad news."

The woman suddenly gripped her glass really hard forming a small crack on it.

"Elaborate," she demanded.

"Well, the operation's fine and we managed to replace his organs with a ghouls'," he explained.

"So what's the problem with that?" she asked impatiently.

"He woke up today," he said as the woman smiled slightly. "I watched him though, as he woke up. But I saw a very big confusing spectacle."

"And what is that?" she asked.

"He's eating the hospital food."

The woman then rested her back on the chair and thought, _"He's not supposed to be able to eat. Why is that? Is it an abnormality? Or the operation didn't work as expected?"_

"Well, on the plus side, we got a successful specimen done," she said as she stood up from her seat. She left her payment at the table and strode away. As she left at about five feet, she looked back again.

"Just keep a close eye to him, okay? The _special one_ , I mean," she said.

The old man heaved a sigh and complained, "Is it even necessary, he's a _failed subject,_ remember?"

The woman just laughed and said, "You don't know him. He always makes the _impossible_ , possible."

And with that, the woman left the bar with a contended smile on her face.

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **References:**

 ** **1.)**** Hachiman meant that _talk_ they had with Komachi, Zaimokuza, Totsuka, and Kawasaki about the student council elections' problems. In which they talk about the cause of problem herself, Ishikki Iroha.

 **2.)** The very first sentence of this fic's first chapter itself.

 ** **3.)**** The after-party they had after the marathon scene in Volume 10 of the LN and episode 11 of the season 2 anime.

* * *

 **Note:** Hehe, Hikkimama's name is Haruhi. Now guess what his father's name will be…

That's right, he's JOHN SMITH!

Haha, just kidding. Suzumiya Haruhi series reference by the way.

Please leave reviews, and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing besides an old PC and my crazy ideas.

 **Little note:** Chapter one's been edited, please check it out.

* * *

 **CHAPTER THREE:**

 **But Still, A Welcome Greeting is Required**

* * *

 **English Supplementary Assignment: Movie Review**

James Cameron's "Titanic"

Class 2 Section F Hikigaya Hachiman

On closer analysis, this piece of art isn't essentially about the matters of love and its hardships. It is, in my personal opinion, a portrayal of how cruel this world we live in was. Cruel in many ways than one; not only to those who already thought that they're suffering, but also to those who doesn't realize they do.

Let me give you an example based solely on the movie's cast itself. The aristocratic girl, Rose, whose arranged to marry Cal, a man who she doesn't even know fully. This particular scenario visualizes that being wealthy won't save you from these cruelties; because in truth, anyone is susceptible to this world's unfairness. Doesn't matter even if you'd a lot of silver spoons stuffed in your mouth, doesn't matter even if you think you haven't done anything wrong. This world's inconsiderable cruelties never pick its victims. Even a single pitiful child can be one.

In addition, this movie taught me one thing that I'm sure will be useful in the long run. I'm not one to take life lessons from others (especially movies), but I realized that this insight will really be useful, even for you who are currently reading this. What I have learnt, I might share, is to not let myself get driven away by the harsh waves of life. I learnt not to follow the example of the long-destroyed R.M.S. Titanic who failed to serve its purpose and sank itself to the sea of despair… literally.

Now, I will conclude this with a petty resolution of mine; I will, from now on, follow the example of the one who's the true epitome of what humans should actually be: strong willed, cold and unforgiving…

…like that certain 'iceberg' which showed me the true way of living.

* * *

I heaved a sigh as I reread my supposedly make-up homework for English. Judging by the content itself, I know this won't do due to sensei's damnable standards. But eh, I hope he'll let me off to this one. I just got discharged from the hospital after all.

 _Hehe, perks of being hospitalized, I suppose?_

I stretched my back as I stood up from my chair. _Nothing really beats sleeping at your own room, huh?_ I thought as I looked over my bed which hasn't been occupied for weeks. I got discharged from the hospital two days ago, and now it's Monday, the time for me to go back to school. Putting the make-up assignments that I worked on last night in my school bag, I took a glance at the clock. 5: 43, it says. I woke up pretty early today. _I slept for about three weeks after all._ I head to the shower to take a quick bath. It's great thing that my bandages were removed before I got discharged, with the doctor saying that I'm already pretty healed and stuff. Which is weird, knowing the fact that I got on an operation just two weeks ago and I don't even have at least a single scar. I know it's silly to seek for demerits, but it just feels weird.

 _Ugh, well at least I'm okay._

* * *

After taking a refreshing bath, I walked down the stairs clad in my uniform. I smiled at myself as I inhaled the sweet smell wafting from the kitchen.

 _A Komachi-cooked breakfast is the absolute best way to start a day._

The moment I laid my eyes on the kitchen, I saw her, the true epitome of innocence and purity. Her apron fluttering sweetly from her timid movements. This scene is just like a painting given life.

"What's that look for? Gross," she said as she saw me.

 _My heart's too broken to comment on that_.

"Morning," I greeted her to change the topic.

"Hmm, good morning," she replied as she placed the fried eggs in the plate for serving.

She looked to me as if she hasn't met me for years, "It looks weird seeing you in your uniform again. I know it's silly but I kinda get used to seeing you in hospital-clothing"

"Hey, that's not a very good thing to say, you know?" I reprimanded her. Seriously being in a hospital wasn't a great experience.

"Yeah, my bad," she apologized while setting the table. "So, you're going back to school now, huh?"

She looked at me with concern evident in her eyes, "Don't overexert yourself, okay?"

"Okay," I smirked. "Mum."

* * *

The foods' trek to my stomach wasn't that exciting so I'll skip through that. It's still too early to go to school so I decided to kill time by watching TV along with Komachi. There's a cartoon show currently on air, but honestly, I don't really care. I'm not fond of cartoon shows. Well, maybe I was in my childhood days, but now? Eh, I can't say I still do. This only proves the fact that people changes through time. Anyone, even me, can change at least in minor cases. But with that aside, in the topic of liking and disliking cartoon shows, my little sister will always be an exemption.

"Whoa," she reacted as a little girl on TV grew some fairy wings.

 _Seriously, you're being way too old for this._

"Hey, Onii-chan," she called me as I'm about to press the turn off button of the TV remote.

"Hmmm?" I hummed innocently while putting the remote back in the coffee table.

She seemed to not notice what I'm about to do and told me something, "You know, Mr. Cowfield called early this morning. Dad and him talked about some things."

"Oh," I started. "That bastard?"

"Ugh, you really can use some soap to your mouth," she reprimanded me. "That aside, he told dad that he's glad you're completely fine now and he's sorry because he can't meet you and apologize personally."

"Not that I care, but why?" I asked.

"Oh," she put a finger to her chin. "That time he accidentally ran-over you, he's actually about to catch a flight abroad. He kinda postponed the flight till now to make sure you got well before he leave."

I smirked as I heard that, "Well, at least he knows courtesy."

"A point for him," I added with a smile.

I looked to the TV again to see that the said girl with fairy wings just died. Thank god Komachi wasn't paying attention to the show right now.

 _Just what the hell this show's all about?_

"Also…" she trailed off.

"Also, what?"

She lowered her head sheepishly, the tactic she always does whenever she's about to say something I'll get angry about, "Mum and dad set a bank account for you."

 _I knew it. I should've seen this coming._

But might as well clarify, I won't know unless I ask, "And why is that?"

"Because…" she trailed off again. Judging by the way she's acting, I can now safely assume what she's about to say.

I decided to help her by asking what's on my mind, "Don't tell me that bastard's sent money to that account."

She flinched as she heard me. _Looks like I'm spot on._ She somehow looked nervous now, she's even fidgeting. _Did she really think I'll get mad a t her?_

"Hey," I called her. "I'm not angry. Well, at least not at you. I'll just have you know that I will never touch that money. You guys can use that if it's emergency, but other than that, I wish to leave that money untouched."

Komachi released a relieved sigh as she looked at me, "I understand. But mum and dad's on your side, so it seems like those bucks will be lonely for a while."

"Let them be."

* * *

The concept of education is evil. It is nothing but some hardcore training for being a corporate slave as you graduated. The fact that anyone was forced to attend school against their own will show how this 'educational institutions' rids us of freedom even from young age. Add the cliché scenario of people discriminating the ones who have lower educational attainment as them, and you can completely see that learning isn't the sole purpose why people go to school.

You call graduating a milestone? Heck I bet you just brag it on your reunion parties saying, _"Hey bruh, I got a degree at Harvard, how's that?"_

But even though how much we hate going to school, we can't help but go anyway. With all those expectations our parents are burdening us, we'll have no choice but to comply with their demands.

 _Just like a corporate slave, don't you think?_

* * *

As I'm busy having these thoughts, I locked my bicycle up the bike rack. My breathing's somehow ragged, but I guess that's normal. The doctor told me to exercise my body after all.

I slumped my shoulders as I looked to this aka ' _second home for students'_ , aka ' _place for learning'_ , aka _'educational institution'_.

 _Yes, my friend. I'm back at school…_

… _Or corporate slave boot-camp, whichever appeals to you._

Walking to the hallways was not really that eventful. No one actually notices (or cares about) me so it's no problem. I just passed those riajuus without a care in the world. But somehow, I felt kind of glad witnessing this scene again; students talking nonsense as they wait for the bell to ring etcetera, etcetera.

 _Man, I really am back._

Seeing the familiar door of my classroom, my heart warmed a little. _I suppose being in school wasn't that bad after all._

"It's been a while, suckers," I muttered as I twisted the doorknob.

* * *

You know what the 'element of surprise' is? It's a military tactic I just read in a magazine lately. It mainly states the advantages of knowing better than the one whom you're fighting with. For example; simple tricks of hiding in a bush wearing camouflage. If you're careful, your prey won't notice you- and that, by itself, is a big advantage. The capability to surprise your opponent can never fail victory.

 _Now why am I talking about surprises, you ask?_

That's because I want these people to realize that surprises aren't always a great thing to do.

I peeked through my bag which I substituted as a defense material. It's normal instinct for humans to seek for defense whenever they're surprised. _And I'm no exception!_

But it kinda looked silly, standing through the door with my bag shielding my face. I suppose I can't blame those jerks laughing their asses now.

Wait.

 _Why the fuck are they laughing?_

"Oi, if it's your idea of a prank, I tell you, _"_ I growled with the fiercest voice I could muster. "This isn't funny."

The bastards froze immediately the moment they heard me. They just looked at me blankly like I'm some sort of a rare Pokémon. Moments have passed and a blonde bastard decided to speak up.

"We're not pranking you, Hikitani-kun," he started. "This is supposed to be a 'welcome-greeting' but I guess we sort of got a bit… overboard."

"A 'welcome what'?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"A 'welcome-greeting'," he answered as he pointed on a banner currently being held Hiratsuka-sensei.

 _Welcome back, Hikki!,_ it says.

"Oh," is the only thing I can say as a swarm of people ran to me.

My head completely went blank after that. There's no way I'll comprehend the situation that instant. I just stood there like an idiot while nodding and answering some of their questions.

 _A welcome greeting? For me? They must be nuts._

Miura and company are asking about my current state, which I answered with a glorious " _I'm fine_."

Kawasomething's asking me if I still knew her and tells me to say her name, which I complied with a shrug-and-smile combo.

 _She went completely white as sheet after I did that, muttering words on the lines of "Amnesia?" and "It can't be"._

Some fools are asking me how it feels to be hit by a car; I just told them that I'll be happy to make a demonstration if they wanted one.

 _They shut themselves up after I started looking out for volunteers._

After about fifteen minutes wasted in this so-called 'welcome greeting', Hiratsuka-sensei told everyone to go back to their seats so we can start our first lesson. Everyone complied while heading to their chairs, like nothing just happened. Not that I care. _It's awkwardly embarrassing being debriefed by them._

But somehow, something feels off.

I looked to the source of my unease only to be greeted with an empty chair. A complete visualization of despair laid upon my eyes, and no one, even the world's best comedian can cheer me up.

 _A person was supposed to be there, waving at me with an angelic smile._

But no, there's no one, even a single shed of shadow.

Sensei started taking the attendance of everyone. And as she passed that certain seat and someone said " _Sai-chan won't be able to come today, he says he's sick,"_ I made the worst conclusion I would've ever done in my whole life…

… _I'm gonna kill myself today._

* * *

As Hikigaya Hachiman is busy contemplating about the best way to commit suicide, a certain man is sharing the same sentiment as him.

"Goddamit," he cursed under his breath.

The co-worker beside him heard his remark and asked, "Problems with the gourmet?"

He looked at him with remorseful eyes and said, "Partly, that sonuvabitch's slippery as hell."

"One moment we'll get a tip he's there and the next moment we arrive,"

He made a 'poof' gesture, "He'll be gone."

The co-worker put on a knowing face, "Well, it's a bit hard to catch a ghoul with a lot of…"

"…connections," he emphasized.

The depressed man then face-palmed himself, "Really, damn it."

The co-worker took pity on him and decided to change the subject, "But I thought they gave you a new job?"

The poor man got even more depressed as he heard that," Pretty lame job, I must say."

"You won't believe what they gave to me," he added.

"What have they given you?" the co-worker asked, visibly swallowing some saliva as he talk.

"They asked me," he answered then posed a 'quoting' stance. "To watch a high-school boy."

He then stood up with a furious look on his face, "I ain't a goddam babysitter, man!"

The co-worker smirked inwardly, _I know you're not_ , he thought.

"Maybe he's a potential protégé?" he suggested as he took a seat in front of his desk. On top of it are files, labeled _CCG_.

The man looked thoughtful for a second, "I don't know, honestly."

"Well," the co-worker smiled at him. "You won't know unless you do your job, right?"

"Right," he agreed. "A job's a job after all, I signed for this."

The co-worker then flashed him a thumbs-up, "That's the spirit."

The man began to pick up his files and stacked it in his bag. Taking the very large briefcase on tow, he head to the door, "Gotta go."

"Hey," the co-worker suddenly called him. "This boy, what school he's attending?"

With that, the man grimaced and answered, "Sobu."

The co-worker then frowned after hearing that, "Is it just coincidence that those ghoul clans' daughter is also studying there?"

"I'm no genius man, I dunno."

"Whatever," the co-worker said as he looked to the pictures on the wall with 'x' marks on them. "They're classified as civilized ghouls anyway, so I guess that's no problem."

The man then smirked for the first time, forgetting his depressed state, "Ghouls will always be ghouls, dumbass. Civilized or not, when they got hungry, they'll lose it."

"And when they do," he added with a maniacal grin on his face. "It'll be our time to shine."

* * *

Classes ended before I knew it. _Why?_ Well that's because I slept.

 _A round of applause for me._

Lessons aren't that really important. Well some of them may be, but who honestly cares about the sciences? _We're all not aiming to be Einsteins damn it._

As I'm busy complaining to myself about the unfairness of forcing students study subjects that won't be useful for them, I looked around the room. Homeroom's already over but a few people's still here. And by few, I meant that certain clique. That aside, someone demanded me to wait for her after class. But eh, who do you think you're asking at? Requesting something to me is like talking to a sea lion-

 _I may nod, but I won't understand._

I stood up and brought my bag with me. Heading to the door, I took one last glance to the bitch I'm supposed to be waiting. She's still busy chatting with her friends- not that I care, but I might as well just let her be.

 _She had friends, after all._

As I opened the door, I head to the corner and leaned myself to the wall.

 _No, you got it wrong, I'm not waiting. It's just that I, uh, I just got my back tired. Yeah, tired back, want to rest a bit_.

Ugh, who the hell am I kidding? Alright, I'm waiting. At least she won't get angry to me so I might as well just wait. Not that I'm about to do something important, anyway.

I heard a tap-tap on the floor and I suddenly got something hitting my shoulders.

"I told you to wait," she reminded me while holding her schoolbag in a hitting stance.

I smirked, "Well, I did wait, didn't I?"

She looked at me blankly for a second, "I meant 'wait outside the classroom'."

"Aren't we already 'outside the classroom'?" I sighed.

She face-palmed and sighed, "This is pointless."

I'm somehow hurt by what she said so I decided to retort back, "No, you are pointless."

"Why?" she asked as we started walking.

I cleared my throat as I began my explanation, "Waiting or not waiting, does it even matter? We're going to meet at the clubroom anyway so isn't it going to be more efficient if I go there first instead?"

If you did the math, you can see how much time I'm losing just by waiting for her. On average cases, she spends about five minutes before going out of the classroom due to some chit-chat. Multiply that with seven and you'll see that I already lost the exact thirty-five minutes of my week.

Thirty-five minutes that'll surely buy me some time whenever I'm in a life and death predicament.

And I lost a part of that thirty-five minutes just now.

 _I might die, Yuigahama, and you won't even know it's your fault._

I look at her hoping that she'll get what I'm thinking. Unfortunately, this girl never gets anything.

"It's the action that counts, Hikki," she said with a know-it-all look on her face. "What do you call that? Hu-human inter…"

"Human interaction," I decided to help her.

"Yeah, you know? That stuff's really important."

I heaved a deep sigh, "You got the concept wrong from the start."

"But I won't bother explaining," I added.

She looked at me, dumbfounded, "Why?"

"Because talking to you feels like talking to a monkey."

 _The next scene is consisting of an angry Yuigahama and me, jumping on tip-toes while caressing my bruised shin._

We continued walking, but I got a problem here- she's pouting now. And tell you what, a grumpy Yuigahama is a scary Yuigahama.

 _Might as well cheer her up._

"You know," I started. "That's a compliment, if you look closely."

She looked at me but didn't say anything. Though I'm sure she wants an explanation.

"Monkeys are supposed to be very intelligent mammals," I started to explain. "And you being in the same sentence as 'intelligent'is a highly rare phenomena."

She looked at me sweetly as I said that, though I'm not sure what's that glint in her eyes was all about.

"Hikki?" she called me.

"Hmm?" I hummed in response.

"Can we drop by the home economics room for a sec?" she requested.

"What for?" I asked, honestly curious about what she's going to do at the H/E room.

"Oh, nothing important," she answered with a smile. "Just gonna borrow a knife."

I swallowed audibly and asked, "And what will you need a knife for?"

"Nothing serious," she said as she looked at me straight in the eyes. "Just going to disembowel some smartass bastard, that's all."

* * *

After a whole five minutes of dissuading a potential murderer to get her very first weapon, we finally arrived at the clubroom. The same-old routine of Yukinoshita brewing tea as Yuigahama blabber around unfolds. This day's pretty boring, as ever. No requests whatsoever- _not that I'm asking for one_.

But all of a sudden, as if I just jinxed myself, we got a knock on the door.

 _Damn those flags._

We all looked at each other for a moment and Yukinoshita nodded, "Come in."

The door opened, revealing a frame of a girl I haven't met before. Must be a new student, I suppose?

She walked in with careful movements as if afraid that we'll just suddenly jump onto her and bite.

"Is this the Service-Clubroom?" she asked as she recollected herself.

Yuigahama's eyes lit up as she heard that, "Hello there! Got a request for us?"

She must be really dying to do something right now, she looked as excited as a damnable kangaroo getting its first jump.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'm just here to call someone."

She looked at me suddenly, "Are you Hikigaya Hachiman?"

The two girls looked at me, bewildered as if I just got persecuted for murder.

 _What? I didn't do anything, I swear!_

As I'm busy explaining to no one in particular, Yukinoshita spoke, with her ever cold-tone.

"May I ask what do you need him for?" she asked to the poor girl who just started fidgeting.

"U-uh," she stuttered. "K-kanbara-sensei."

"And what's Kanbara-sensei got to do with this?" she pressed.

 _Darn it Yukinoshita, this isn't an interrogation room._

I took pity on the poor girl and decided to throw her a lifeboat, "Am I being called by Sensei?"

The girl looked at me with thankful eyes and nodded.

"You're being called? What would our English instructor need you for?" Yuigahama asked.

"Yuigahama-san," Yukinoshita called her. "Think about it for a moment,"

She pointed at me, "Why would a teacher call someone like him at his office?"

Yuigahama looked thoughtful for a second, then gasped as she put on a knowing look.

"Y-you, don't tell me it's because of your essays again?" Yuigahama asked me with a worried look on her face.

"No it's not," I answered as I pick up my stuffs and head to the door. "It's a movie review."

"See you tomorrow," I told to the two stunned idiots as I closed the door.

* * *

The faculty office was way too far from the clubroom, which is a big problem for I have to walk along with a girl to get there.

 _Man, talk about awkward._

I'm not good at striking up conversations and I'm not really in the right state of mind to do that. I decided to just chill and let our feet take us to our destinations.

But suddenly, as if feeling the same awkwardness, the girl beside me spoke, "We've met before."

I looked at her questioningly as she started to blush crimson-red, "What do you mean?"

"I-I mean," she started. "We've met before, outside of school, I mean."

I tried to rack my brain for the memories of this girl, but I found nothing.

"Sorry, but it seemed like I forgot," I apologized while bowing discretely.

The girl looked disappointed for a second, but she just nodded, "I see."

We continued to walk on silence. But this time, it's even more uncomfortable. She's looking down like a child who got her toy stolen.

 _Man, this sight breaks my heart._

"Uhm," I cleared my throat to get her attention. "If it's alright, can you tell me how we've met before?"

She looked surprised for a moment then beamed for the first time, "Okay, but it's going to be a long story."

"We can just slow-down our paces for a while," I suggested.

"Alright," she agreed. "Back in grade-school, I used to visit my aunt's house for vacation."

She sighed as if remembering an old bad memory, "My parents are always out because of their job, so it's always a great thing to at least be with my cousins during vacation."

"But in that one certain summer, my cousins went to an art-camp and I was left alone. It's very lonesome in there so I just decided to read books on the backyard by the shade of a tree."

"Then suddenly," she looked at me. "A boy came out of nowhere."

She chuckled, "He said he jumped off the fence to talk to me, saying that I looked so… lonely."

I hitched a breath as I heard that. _Nostalgia._

"From that time on, we spend our afternoons there talking about the books we've read. He saved my supposed to be lonely vacation."

"You know?" she stared at me straight in the eyes. "That boy, was you."

I tried to recollect myself, but this is just too much. _How can it be? She looked so different._

"Don't tell me," I choked. "That you're _that_ Four-Eyes?"

She smirked as she heard me, "I see, so you still call me that."

"It's been a while," she added.

I took a deep breath and smiled, in the warmest way I could do, "Been a while indeed."

* * *

Back about years ago, when I was still that fool of myself who knew nothing about the cruel reality of this world, I met a certain girl in glasses. She's sitting by the shade of the tree reading a book. She looked so peaceful, but somehow, I felt like something's troubling her inside. A sudden urge to go talk to her embedded me, but I don't know why. Is it because she seemed strange? Is it because she seemed like a new neighbor of mine? I ran these questions in my head for nothing.

I just decided to go to my room and have a nice long nap.

But then I saw it,

She sighed while looking up at the morning sky.

That moment, I realized it, she's lonely…

… _just like me_.

* * *

"I see you've changed." I said as we climb up the stairs.

"Well I took off my glasses as I entered high school," she smirked suddenly. "Shame you can't call me four-eyes now, right?"

"Well I can just call you by your name," I said as I gasped. "That reminded me, I don't even know your name."

We looked at each other for a second then burst out laughing.

"So do I," she squeezed between snickers.

I held out a hand to her as I caught my breath, "Hikigaya Hachiman."

"Nishino Yuuki," she responded as she shook my hand.

Moments have passed and we just walked to our destination.

 _This walk took longer than I expected._

She cleared her throat as we approach the faculty door, "We're here."

"Looks like it," I said. "You're not going to come in?"

"Oh no," she said as she waved her arms. "Sensei just asked me to fetch you."

"I see," I responded unconsciously. It felt weird but this parting seemed so dejecting.

"We can talk again tomorrow, if you want," she suggested as if she understood the expression I'm making.

I feel my face heat-up but I still agreed, "That'll be great."

With that, she waved me goodbye as she started to walk away.

As I'm about to open the faculty door, she called me.

"Hey," she said. "That's a bummer, really, you being in a club already."

I looked at her while raising an eyebrow, "Why?"

She put a smug look on her face, "Because if you're not, I would've dragged you by the literature club already."

"Oh," I said. "A literature-club member, huh?"

"President, actually," she said one last time as she walked away.

* * *

I smiled to myself as I opened the door. _Its' not everyday that you got to meet a long-forgotten childhood friend after all._

Looking ahead of me, I was greeted with tables with a stockpile of papers on top of them.

 _Definitely the faculty room._

As I walk to the sole reason of why I'm here, he saw me, then suddenly called out to the person on the other table, "Shizuka, he' here."

Hiratsuka-sensei looked at him irritated, "Now what?"

"You talk to him," he told her as he handed her a piece of paper. "You know him better than I do."

Hiratsuka-sensei skimmed through the paper then snorted, "Looks like you also got the same problems as I do."

She looked at me weirdly then directed her eyes to Kanbara-sensei, "You just have to tell him to rewrite it and give him some pointers, it doesn't have to be me."

Kanbara sensei clapped his hands and apologized, "I'm sorry but I have to get going now."

"And why is that?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked him as she handed me the paper she's been holding.

 _Guess what, it's my movie-review._

"Got a date with my wife tonight," he told her as he headed to the door carrying his bag. "Can't afford to be late."

"Counting on ya'," he said as he closed the door.

 _That's one heck of a teacher for you_ , I thought as I craned my neck to look at the person in front of me.

What laid upon me is a black mass emitting a very dark aura. If not for the white labcoat she's wearing, I wouldn't even recognize her.

"Sensei?" I called her cautiously as she was muttering things like " _Date_ " and " _Wife_ " while smiling creepily.

 _Please, just someone take her already!_

She seemed to have caught her soul at last as she noticed me.

"Now," she started. "Care to explain what is that?"

She pointed at my movie review.

"A movie review," I answered simply.

Sensei frowned at that, "You sure about that?"

I gulped, "Somehow."

She then began cracking her knuckles and told me, "You already know the drill, don't you?"

"Y-yes, Sensei," I stuttered. "Rewrite this or I'll get a beating."

She smiled at that, "Good."

"You're now good to go," she dismissed me.

As I'm about to exit the room, Sensei called me, "Hikigaya."

I looked at her while holding the doorknob.

She looked at me with motherly concern in her eyes, "Be careful on your way home."

"I will," I assured her as I closed the door.

* * *

 _What a long day_ , I thought as walk through the hallway. With that fiasco early in the morning and me meeting again with Four- I mean Nishino, it's such a long day indeed. These whole series of events got me so mentally tired that I just want to go home a have a good night's sleep.

I looked to my phone to see that it's now already quarter to six in the evening. I must've really took my time talking with Nishino that I didn't even realize that's it's getting pretty late already. No point dropping by the clubroom for they might have left already.

I passed by the Student Council office only to see that the door is slight ajar.

Isshiki must be gone home now, though some of the council members may be doing something important so they have to stay late.

 _But it won't hurt to just have a look._

I stopped by the door and pushed it slightly. What greeted me is a dark room, which made me realize that there's no one inside.

 _Maybe they forgot to lock the door._

As I'm about to close the door, I heard it, those slightly suspicious noises.

Crunching and munching.

As if some wild animal had got loose and eating a poor sheep inside.

I steeled myself and opened the door again. I contemplated about turning on the lights for a moment but then I decided to turn it on anyway.

As I flicked the light switch and the light bulb served its purpose and illuminated the room, I saw it.

I have to fight a strong urge to vomit as I saw this abomination.

This girl, wearing the Sobu High uniform, clad in braids and round glasses. There's no mistaking it, it's Secretary-chan, as what Isshiki likes to call her.

She's staring to the ceiling with lifeless eyes, her uniform torn up along with her stomach.

Guts and insides are scattered everywhere.

This poor girl, laid upon my sight, is lying down soaked on her own pool of blood.

I instantaneously had the urge to help her, but a thought ran through my mind.

 _Someone, something must have done this._

Apologizing silently to the dead body in front of me, I turned to leave quickly.

 _Gotta hurry, it's not safe here._

But as I'm about to reach for the door while dialing the police hotline, my body got dragged by my collar.

Then suddenly, the light turned off.

I'm completely in panic, but I can still smell it.

A perfume of a girl, tinged with the filthy smell of blood.

Someone, a woman specifically, is holding me by the collar, baring my movements.

Thinking that I must've screwed up again and got myself in trouble, I realized that I must at least see this bitch's face.

Holding my lit-up phone before me, it gave me just the right amount of light to see my attacker's face.

There she is, looking slightly irritated, with blood trailing on her lips.

That sight didn't fail to make me shudder.

Not because this scene must be ripped-off from a cliché horror movie.

Not because she somehow looked like a potential yandere.

It's because I knew this person, her flamboyant attitude and way of speaking.

Looking at her this way, I really am scared from flesh to the bones.

 _Yes, my friend, I'm really scared._

Because in front of me is the former Student Council president.

"Shi-shiromeguri-senpai!"

* * *

 **Note:** Hello, there peeps, I'm back with a new chapter. As I uploaded this one, I already did some minor changes on my chapter one. Please go and check it out.

The reviews and all are really great, thank you!

So uh, a friend of mine told me to answer some of the reviews, with the reasons of 'you should interact with your readers' and stuff.

Here it goes:

 **DeadlyXDevil** , your predictions _might_ be possible. But I can't say I agree as of yet. Heck I don't even know what I'm doing, lol.

 **TheLaughingStalker** , PEEK-A-BOO! ...satisfied?:)

 **ArmantusCumPinnae** , yes, they'll be both here. But I'm still not sure about the pairing stuff, the tags doesn't have 'romance' after all. But I didn't say that there won't be any pairings, so you can still hope.

 **b(?)** and **ARSLOTHES** , here's the third chapter for you, my friend.

 **Mokkel,** I can't wait too!

 **Shiyoryuu012** , really? _Author-san_? *sheds a tear*

 **EvilMagicman** , thanks a lot for the review. I ask you to please keep on pointing out the things I have to work on, I'll really appreciate it. (..if you don't mind, that is.)

And to all of you who are reading this, thank you. I wish to be with all you till the last word of this fic.

Please leave reviews and I'll see you again in the next chap.

Cheekygaya, out.


	4. Chapter 4 part one

**Disclaimer** : My sister's arm will taste like bacon if I own these references. *caresses slapped cheek*

No, of course, I don't own them.

 **Note:** Sorry for the delay, but I know you want to read the story first, so rant will be later.

* * *

 **Even Though How Much _He_ Tries to Hide,**

 **Trouble Always Seems to Find Him**

(part 1)

* * *

It's been long since I stopped holding expectations on people. It started when the painful nature of reality dawned onto me. Holding expectations is like clinging to a non-existent rope as you're close to drowning. Holding expectations bears nothing but false-hope.

Many says that holding expectations wasn't too bad, but that's just a damnable optimistic way of thinking. In all honesty, being 'realistic' is way far better than being a stupid optimist.

That way, if by some unfortunate case that you got disappointed by holding some random expectation, you can just say, "Whatever, that's how reality is."

However, despite my resolutions of shunning expectations away, I found one huge flaw in my way of thinking.

I stopped holding expectations, so I also stopped caring. I just let people come and go and that's that. I became so immersed in my little world of isolation that I forgot something.

I forgot to doubt.

I forgot to question their attitudes, the way they act.

I stopped thinking twice about most people.

And that flaw of mine rooted this defective side of me.

I should've doubted those bastards who seemed 'too good to be true'.

Like that certain Student Council President I've known.

She, by herself, is a perfect portrayal of what the words 'perfect model student' is all about.

But that idea made me ask myself.

 _Is there really a thing such as 'perfect' in this world?_

* * *

The winter night was chilly, and as the room's window was left open, the temperature slipped and fell headfirst. I was kneeling down, collar being held by this obnoxious monster. I'm choking my throat out as this idiot doesn't know that humans choke whenever you held them by the collar. This monster, however, is a girl. A girl that I knew, perhaps not 'that' well. But I still knew her.

Anyone, who was attending this school with fully-functioning eyes would never fail to know her.

The former student council president, Shiromeguri Meguri.

The comfy-looking third year student of Sobu, showered with praises left and right by the teachers. The one entitled by a ton of student awards.

There's going to be a really long list of great things I can share about her.

Though all of those doesn't matter now as what's in front of me is not the senpai I've known.

* * *

"Oh god," the one holding my collar cursed silently. "Damnit, I thought I locked the door."

She looked troubled, even panicked. I don't know why, but I somehow got pissed.

Why indeed?

Ah, right.

 _I'm the one who's supposed to be panicking, damnit!_

I gathered my balls and decided to call out her attention, "H-hey."

But my will was for naught as she shut me up almost instantly, "Shut up, will you?"

I'm the one who's a true advocate of 'gender-equality', though by some moments, I want to admonish my dominance as a man. And that's why, by this moment, I'd like to question my position in the male hierarchy as I swallowed my pride head on and zipped my mouth.

Then, as if on cue, the woman before me started muttering to herself, "Please, t-this isn't happening."

Hot tears start welling in her eyes as she saw the bloody limp body lying on the floor, "Oh god no, not again."

She looked at me, then touched her face unconsciously, "He even saw my face."

"Curse all the deities, I'm so screwed," she added.

I have a lot of questions.

A lot, as in if you're going to ask me to write a list, that list will surely stretch from here straight to my room. Questions revolving around; "What's she doing here?", "Why is she attacking me?", and "What's up with the dead body?".

But regardless of all those random questions, a single one reached the topmost.

The most intriguing hit me like a smack in the gut.

 _Is she the one who did all this?_

But even before I could ask my question vocally, she spoke, "Should I just kill him?"

 _Damn, that was not a very good joke._

"R-right, maybe I'll just dispose you somewhere where the doves couldn't see you!"

It's creepy, I'll say. The way she looked desperate just to get herself out of this. She's sweating profusely, as if scared of something. Though she's hiding that fact with that sickly smile on her face.

"Yeah-yeah, that's it!" she exclaimed. "How could I not have thought of that?"

You know? 'Reaching conclusions' is supposed to be a state of mental enlightenment, it is a blessing for anyone with rational thinking. Though by this moment, as I looked upon this woman grinning maniacally, I realized:

Insane people reaching conclusions were never a good thing.

"Just a quick snap in the neck will do the trick... probably."

"I still have no idea what I should do with you, but eh, I'll work you out as soon as I'm finished with _her_."

She began tracing her fingers across my neck.

They're cold, just like a dead one's.

 _Will mine's going to be like these too?_

Cold and lifeless?

I don't even know by now. My brain went a complete shutdown, and even the rational reasoning of defending myself never occurred to me.

In a room, tinged with the filthy smell of blood, I'll die.

 _Pretty cool, at least._

I closed my eyes as I faced this tragic fate in front of me.

I have no idea why, but I can somehow assume that I'll never win with her whether if I retaliate or not.

She seemed… different.

Almost not human.

I clicked my tongue in irritation as I this thought crossed my mind.

I just got discharged from a hospital, for crying out loud, and now this?

 _Man, talk about bullshit._

I looked at her, remorse painted in my eyes, because that's the only thing I can do.

Then the last thing I remember is a sound of someone's snickering, as if gleeful of my demise.

 _The world completely went blank after that._

* * *

She'll kill him.

No, she had to kill him.

He saw everything, even her face.

Then after that, just another little push and she'll surely fall off the cliff.

The doves will find out, and then she, along with her Otou-san, will be executed.

No, she doesn't want that. She never wanted that.

She'll do whatever it takes to not let her father face all those sadness ever again.

That's why, she had to kill him, and then dispose his body where no one can see it.

She'll clean everything up and just live the life of a 'civilized ghoul' like her father.

Yes, that'll be great.

As long as she's with her Otou-san, everything will be just fine.

* * *

Meguri looked at the boy she's strangling, guilt apparent in her moist eyes. She doesn't want to do this, but the circumstances are pinning her down to the ground, helpless.

 _I'm sorry, I have no other choice._

Readying the right amount of force to do a quick snap on his neck, she inhaled a deep breath.

She doesn't want to hurt him, so she'll make it as quick as possible.

But before she could even move, her arms stiffened. The neck she's currently holding is vibrating, and out came the sound of sniggering.

".. .hehehe."

There're only two people here, three if you counted the dead one in. But she wasn't laughing; same goes for the bloody corpse lying on the background.

Then that means...

"HAHAHAHAHA!HAHAH"

The one she is holding by the neck is laughing maniacally, no two ways about it. He's still looking down, but she can see his body shaking like mad. This spectacle scared Meguri so much that she had to let go of him and back away.

Then, as the one keeping him up let go, he lost his balance and fell down.

But fear not, he didn't stop laughing.

Meguri fell on her backside, as fear crept through her legs. She'd never seen anything like 'this' before;

The complete visualization of madness.

But that's not the thing that's troubling her completely; as this person felt like a different one from before; a complete spin of 180. Earlier, he looked so scared, even ready to piss himself. But now, she can't mentally grasp anything, as she couldn't believe how the tables had turned.

At this moment, she's the one who's scared.

She'd no longer got the strength to look up, as she's afraid that she'll faint if she did.

But at that moment, the laughing stopped.

A deafening silence ate the room.

 _Should I look up?_ she asked herself. _Maybe he passed out?_

But then, right before she could even raise her head to assure her assumptions, she felt it;

Hot breath connecting with her exposed forehead.

It took a lot of effort on her to stop herself from screaming by this point.

She can feel it; he's right in front of her, breathing raggedly. She's so scared it made her body stiffen. There's no way the thought of being 'this' scared to a mere human ever crossed her mind.

She sighed to herself as she thought of it.

 _It's like that time, when 'kaa-san is getting killed by the doves in front of me._

Truly pathetic.

 _I just stood there, petrified, not able to do anything._

As she grew up, she stayed the same, fearing everything, even her own self. Afraid that she might hurt anyone whenever she lost control. Afraid of getting hurt, because she knew, that even if she fought with all her might, she'll never win.

She's weak, after all.

Too weak that her father and his colleagues always had to clean up after her mess.

Too weak that she can't even control herself, resulting to the death of an innocent.

Too weak that she's just looking down, crying, as the one she's supposed to kill is sizing her up.

 _Karma, isn't it?_

She sighed as she looked up, surrendering to her fate.

 _If I died here, then Otou-san won't have to worry about me anymore._

That thought will at least be her salvation.

With her resolve steeled, she looked at her 'prey'.

But then, she gasped as she looked at him.

No, she didn't gasp.

She screamed.

His skin was pale as sheet, and his hot breath's steaming across her face.

But all of those trivialities doesn't matter compared to the one she's focusing at.

His eyes, dead like a rotten fish's, had one of its sclera colored pitch black. Red strings of nerves are popping out, showing the intense flow of blood. And his pupil, a red dot over the mass of black is twitching, as if eager to come out.

There's no mistaking it, it's a kakugan.

Though there's one catch, "A one-eyed?"

"Hehehe... hahahaha!" he laughed, showing the veins on his throat.

"Every minute..." he muttered inaudibly. "Every hour..."

"They never stopped!" he shouted. "He never stopped!"

"What are you sayin-" she started, but a strong impact connected with her body and she's blown away.

"I begged every moment…" she heard sobbing as she's shaking her head from falling.

It's great that she'd fallen beyond the stack of boxes here. After she collected herself, she looked to the trouble she had to deal with.

No, 'trouble's an understatement. More like a 'mess'.

He's thrashing, sobbing while grinning maniacally.

 _He'd lost it_ , she thought to herself.

"I'll never... ahaha," he laughed between sobs, making him look like a lunatic. "I'll never die again!"

 _What is he saying_? she asked herself, panicking. _He's not making any sense!_

"No no no, I won't ahahaha!" he continued laughing.

He looked at her, eyes blank like a doll's, then asked, "Do you know how it feels to have your stomach ripped open?"

"Over,"

"And over,"

"And over,"

"Agai-, "but he didn't get the chance to finish his question, as the door opened, revealing a figure of a man in security uniform.

"What was that nois- wait, Meguri?" he asked as she looked at her, dumbfounded.

"A-akimitsu-san?" she responded as she recognized the man.

Akimitsu looked at her, then his line of sight changed course to the crumpled gore on the background, "Good lord."

"Don't tell me," he choked. "Not again."

Meguri looked down guiltily, sorrow evident in her eyes, "I lost c-control... again."

But as she finished talking, as if not wanting to be ignored, the boy ran onto Akimitsu with a glint of murderous intent in his eyes.

"Aaaaaargh!" he shouted as he jump onto him, jaws barred and ready to bite.

Akimitsu dodged him skillfully and put his neck on a deadlock. He then looked at Meguri and asked, "And who is this young man?"

"H-he saw me earlier, as I'm in 'that' state," she explained. "He became like' that' the moment I tried to… kill him."

"Goodness, Meguri," the old man put a palm in his face as he sighed. "Trying to kill, for that reason, of all things."

"I-I don't know what else to do," she explained as she bowed her head. "I-I'm sorry."

As they were talking, the man being restrained by Akimitsu suddenly shouted like a banshee. Then with a strength that shocked the hell out of the old man, he threw Akimitsu off.

"I will not die again!" he shouted, "Never again!"

He's in a complete helpless state, judging by what Akimitsu was seeing.

 _He's lost control over himself_ , he thought. _No, wait._

He saw it, his eyes, and his kakugan.

"Oh, for goodness sake," he gasped. "A one-eyed."

Akimitsu looked at Meguri, "I'll try to restrain him, just stay back."

"He doesn't have a kagune on, so I suppose I can handle him myself," he added.

Akimitsu ran to the rampaging boy, activating his own kagune; a tentacle-like appendage shaped like a sword that's extending from the middle of his back to his left arm.

Evading the forceful blows from the thrashing boy in in front of him, he slashed his kagune straight to the boy's stomach, rendering it slit open.

"Ueegh," the boy grunted in pain as liters of blood began to flow from his damaged insides.

"That'll do the trick," Akimitsu told Meguri. "I didn't slash too hard, but that'll at least restrain him down."

The old man's assumptions were true, as the boy fell to his knees, "No, I won't let you..."

"Not again, please... don't hurt me," he said one last time as Akimitsu walked to his direction.

"Rest easy now, young man," he said as he laid him down on the back. "No one's going to hurt you anymore."

As the boy heard that, as if assured by the old man's words, he laid on the cold floor and started snoring like an infant without a care in the world.

Akimitsu looked at Meguri, "That's some really strong friend you got there, he even managed to throw me off."

Meguri looked confused for a second, "We're not exactly 'friends'."

"Oh," Akimitsu widened his eyes. "So you don't know that he's a ghoul?"

"Not to mention a 'one-eyed'?" he added.

Meguri nodded in affirmation, "I only knew that he's a ghoul just now. I honestly had no idea."

Akimitsu smiled at her, "Then that's one problem down for you, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," he said as he pointed at the corpse lying on the ground. "If he's a ghoul himself, then he got no choice but to keep this 'little secret' of yours."

Meguri looked at the limp body lying lifeless and said, "I-I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"Well, mind explaining to me what happened then?" he told her as he sat on a nearby box.

She looked hesitant at first, but then decided to sit beside the old man and inhaled a deep breath.

"I lost control," said Meguri hesitantly. "Again."

The old man put a finger to his bearded chin, "Just like your mother, I see."

"I always have to clean up after her," he added. "Maybe you really inherited her 'binge-eating tendencies'."

"I'm r-really sorry for always causing trouble for you," Meguri apologized with tears falling down her cheeks. "T-this time's different though, I'm sure the CCG will find out about this."

"And I'm going to be in trouble," she sobbed, "Along with father."

Akimitsu hated seeing Meguri like this; he had worked for the Shiromeguris for so long, and it's very rare to see his master's daughter in a depressed state. Even after her mother's tragic death, she took it really well, for the sake of her father.

The old man inhaled the cold air and called her, "Meguri."

He took a nearby box and opened it, showing a bunch of spare gym clothes. He handed it to her and said, "Change into this."

"Then after you got home, burn all of your blood-soaked uniform," he added.

"Thank you," Meguri thanked him sincerely. "What about you?"

Akimitsu sighed as she looked at her. Then she patted her head, "I'm going to clean everything up."

Those words sent a lump on Meguri's lungs that she got trouble breathing, "N-no, you don't mean."

Akimitsu stood up, waving his hands off Meguri. He walked to the nearby window and opened it fully, letting the full blow of the night breeze come in.

"You remember that moment when the CCG raided the Shiromeguri Manor?" he asked. "I did my best to protect the house, but I was just too weak."

He looked at the window with a smile on his face, "But as I'm about to get killed, Urie-sama came out of nowhere and played the part of the 'hero'."

"That time, I thought," he added. "He's so cool! So I might as well praise him after the battle was over."

Then suddenly, his smile faltered, "But as I'm walking down the hall, thinking that the mess was done..."

"I saw him," he choked. "Crying over Ai-sama's dead body."

Like a withered tree left on by time, the old man's sorrowful face stared through the ink-streaked sky.

"And at the same time, I realized," he looked at Meguri. "If only he didn't bother to save this old man's life, your mother would still be alive by now."

He knelt down, and then put his head on the floor, as if kissing it, "I'm so sorry."

Meguri choked her sobs. She can't bring herself to hate this man, he'd already become a second father-figure to her. All those times that her father can't attend his duties, he'll be there. Even though it's been long since the Shiromeguri clan had fallen, he stayed with them.

"You don't have to apologize, Akimitsu-san," said Meguri. "It's never your fault."

But the man wasn't listening, as he's busy reciting all the things he wanted to say, "All my life, I'm embedded with guilt every time I see the people I'm serving wearing such tragic faces."

"That's why," he looked at Meguri, eyes bloodshot from crying. "This time, I'll make sure to atone for everything."

"I'll take all the blame and let you live a peaceful life along with Urie-sama," he added.

Meguri's head was blank, and she can't utter anything.

"This'll be my last service for the Shiromeguris," he said as he stood up and bowed. "It's my great honor to be of service to such a great family."

Meguri wanted to complain, to stop him, but she knew that this old man never wavers with his decisions. Back in that time on, he even sweared to give his life for their sake.

 _By which he was doing now._

She knows that she can never stop this old man, so all she could do was hug him. Tightly.

"N-no," she squeezed between her burst of tears. "It's 'our' honor to be served by a great man like you."

"I promise…" she added in a voice the old man couldn't hear. "I'll do whatever I can to save you."

* * *

Is there such thing as 'unfortunate' in this world?

Talking about experience, I can say there wasn't. They may be right, saying that we live in an unfortunate world and being unlucky is inevitable. But if we are already unlucky from the beginning, why bother labeling people 'unfortunate' in the first place? Is it based in the amount of 'suffering' you're getting by being unfortunate? Or is it based on 'how bad' your situation is?

If that is, then I'll say that those bastards who made the concept of 'being unfortunate' are just damn hypocrites.

We are all unlucky, for god's sake. They are just labeling people as 'unfortunate' because they don't want to be labeled as one.

Now why I am ranting this nonsense?

I don't even know.

Maybe because I'm feeling 'unfortunate' myself.

The wind is cold, and my clothes are damp. Those are the only things that are registering in my throbbing head. I can't even open my eyes, as I'm afraid that my head will burst out its contents if I did.

I can somehow feel that I'm lying on a comfortable and fluffy surface.

Like a bed.

 _Did I collapse just now?_

Feeling my head cautiously, I can assume that I must've hit my head as I fell down.

"Man, I feel like shit," I muttered as I visualize my pitiful state.

"Shit indeed," I suddenly heard a voice talk from afar.

I forcefully pried my eyes open, even though how much it hurt, then quickly sprung my feet up.

All my efforts evaporated like a mist as my legs lost all energy and I fell down again.

"Don't force yourself, you just got conscious," the 'voice' told me in a consoling way. "Just lie down for a bit there, okay? I think a must've brought a change of clothes here."

"Shut up, you bitch!" I exclaimed as I heard someone gasp.

 _Why am I angry, you ask?_

Well it's no biggie, actually. It's just that the one talking with me just now is the one who tried to kill me earlier.

 _Not a big deal, right?_

"Okay, I know you're mad, but please calm down for now, okay?"

"Ahaha… you're asking me to be calm?" I asked in a 'calm' tone. "Calm?"

"DIDN'T YOU JUST TRIED TO KILL ME EARLIER!"

The moment I shouted that, I heard it, those sobbing sounds, "I-I d-didn't meant to d-do that…"

I craned my neck I as looked at her while lying down. There she is, sitting by the nearby sofa with her head bowed down. She looked… 'sorrowful'. I don't know the norm, but aren't killers supposed to act crazy? She's sobbing, and I don't know how to deal with 'this' type of lunatic.

 _Not that I know how to deal with any type, but eh, whatever._

Maybe she's one of those 'tragic-angsty' types? The one who kills their victims then mourns over their graves?

 _Man, that was some serious fetish._

She just continued sobbing, and judging by the fact that she's in a distracted notion, this'll be a great time for me to do my sneaky escape.

But on the matter of escaping, that made me wonder.

 _Where am I?_

I'm lying on a bed covered in a bath towel I doesn't recognize. An unfamiliar room, most likely a females ones…

 _Oh fuck._

"H-hey," I frantically called her. "Just where the hell am I?"

I already had my assumptions, and mind you, they weren't pleasant. But I'm afraid that I'll die of anxiety if I didn't ask so I just did.

She instantly stopped bawling her eyes out as she heard me. She looked at my direction with red eyes, streaked with tears then answered my question wearily, "Y-you're currently in my, uh… in my… apartment."

 _Oh fuck indeed._

"So you're saying," I said as I cautiously sit up from the bed I'm lying at. "Is that you took me to your flat while I'm unconscious?"

She looked like she has something to say for a moment but just nodded, "Y-yes."

I inhaled a deep breath and asked, "F-for what reason, might I ask?"

Torture, human trafficking, cannibalism. Open your god damn eyes, Hachiman. Whatever she's going to say whenever she opens that damned mouth of hers, you know it wasn't going to be music to your ears.

 _Sigh._

Mum, dad, may you live happier without a deadbeat son.

Komachi, everything I own now belongs to you, though I wish of you to clear my PC's browser history before you use it; for my dignity and your sake.

As I'm busy writing my mental note of last wills, the girl before me stood up and handed me a pair of clothes, "You're gravely injured earlier, so I have no other choice but to take you with me. I have some unisex clothes here; I suppose you could use these for now."

 _Gravely injured, huh?_

My line of sight changed course from the pair of clothes I'm holding to the entity in front of me. My look's doubtful- _very_ doubtful. This woman just tried to kill me earlier, not to mention that I have these crippling suspicions of her killing that poor girl back at school. Not to be cowardly, but I at least have a reasonable excuse to be wary of her, don't I?

I decided to play it cool for now, and told her to look away.

 _She might be a lunatic, but she's still a girl._

As I looked to my torso to unbutton my shirt, I saw the clothes I'm wearing.

Did I just say that my uniform's damp? Hell yeah, it is. But not from water.

But from blood.

 _What the fuck?_

"W-what is this?" I choked while pointing at my blood-drenched school coat.

Many assumptions are crossing my mind, but all of them are just useless. I need to find something that'll give me an idea of what happened. I tried looking at her, who's in a comfortable pair of pajamas. No matter how many times I looked at it, there's this sickly looking slit opened wide on the side of my stomach.

I must've had a very horrified expression as the woman in front of me began to explain in much panicked manner, "T-that can't be helped!"

"It looks like it had healed now though, s-so please don't worry," she added desperately.

Yeah right, I only had a gaping hole in my school uniform, not to mention I'm freaking soaked with blood.

 _No need to worry, right?_

"Okay," I said in a voice I believed to be authoritative. "I'll change into these, but I'll have you explain everything as I'm finished."

She looked frightened first after my change of tone, but she just nodded, "A-alright."

I told her to look away again as I began unbuttoning my shirt; quickly, as I don't want to bask in the sight of my blood soaked uniform. After I finished undressing my upper part, I slipped my torso to the shirt I was given.

Is it just me or did girl's clothes naturally smell good? Are they putting perfume on it before they store it or what? Maybe they're using some kind of a fabric conditioner or something-

Oh damnit.

 _Out of the gutter, Hachiman!_

I quickly changed my clothes as I don't want my thoughts to drift into those 'unnecessary' destinations. I told her that she can look now as I'm already finished.

She blushed as she saw me, "Oh…"

I know I'm sorry. I know it's weird to see someone like me wearing your clothes.

I'm really sorry for letting you see such a disgusting sight. May this not haunt you on your dreams.

Oh wait.

Actually, screw that, imprint this to your god damn memory. I wish of you to have a nightmare because of this.

One less crazy person in this world because of me.

After restraining myself from doing the infamous Harlem Shake just to make it even more disgusting, l looked at her with admonishing eyes and said, "I'm done changing."

The ex-president in front of me inhaled a deep breath and placed a chair in front of me.

"So," she started. "What do you want to know first, Hikigaya-kun?"

 _So she knew me all along huh?_ I thought as I started lining up my barrage of questions.

"Where are we?" I asked.

I know that this is her apartment, but who knows? Maybe this is in some other part of Japan.

"We're just two blocks away from Sobu," she answered. "My father let me have an apartment close to the school after I finished my first year."

Not too far, huh? Well that's good.

One question down, a lot more to go.

"Now," I initiated. "Care explaining why I'm drenched in blood?"

That's what I really love to know, as I don't have any wounds, not to mention bruises on.

"Y-you," she stuttered. "You really don't remember?"

"I won't be asking you if I do," I responded begrudgingly.

The moment I said that, she looked at me weirdly, "You really don't?"

"…" I looked at her with a deadpan expression, the one which says, "I'll kill you if you ask me that again."

"Alright," she inhaled a deep breath. "This may sound weird to you as you're saying that you can't remember."

"But I'll explain anyway," she added.

"Go on," I persuaded her.

"Those blood you got on your body," she started. "Are yours."

I looked at her, gob smacked, "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not."

"But I don't have any wounds on," I pointed at my torso. "You can't be right."

"I know it's confusing, but let me explain from the beginning," she told me.

I really want to clarify her point but I realized that it's better if she just started from the beginning, "Okay."

"How should I say this," she trailed off. "Okay, let's start by explaining what ghouls are."

"What the- what's that got to do with this?" I choked, flabbergasted. Is it some modus to make me forget what you've just done earlier? Because if it is, then I wanted to tell you it wasn't working.

"Everything," she answered simply. "So if you'll please shut your mouth for a second then I'll tell you everything."

I swallowed my retort as I shut my mouth.

"Good," she said. "Now, ghouls, they are beings who looked like humans, though with a little enhancements."

"They've got improved reflexes and whatnots, they're like superhumans if you like to think it that way."

"Though there's one catch," she continued. "Ghouls can only eat humans."

The moment she said that, I stood up, bowed my head and turned to leave, "You're story is quite impressive, I'll be taking my leave now."

"W-wait!" she pleaded. "I'm not making stories. Please sit down for now, okay? I promise I'll tell you everything as soon as I finished getting this out of the way."

I'm a bit reluctant but I still complied and sat down.

She heaved a sigh and continued, "So, as I'm saying, ghouls can only eat humans as nourishment, and they'll go crazy if they didn't eat for a long time."

"Okay, I know this may sound crazy but," she hesitated at first but inhaled a long breath and decided to continue. "I, Shiromeguri Meguri, am a ghoul."

"I'm not supposed to attack humans like what I did earlier, but I have a really bad case."

"I got binge-eating tendencies. It means that whenever I got hungry, I'll lose control over my head and the last thing I'll know, is that I'd hurt someone while trying to find something to eat. "

She bowed down while stifling sobs, "J-just like what happened earlier."

My mind wandered back to that room. That place where I saw that poor girl lying lifeless on the ground.

"Okay," I said after not talking for a while. "Let us say that I believe this 'story' you were saying,"

"Then what's that got to do with my blood-soaked clothes?" I asked.

"I'm getting there," she said. "What happened is, you suddenly barged in the room as I-I I'm…"

"As you're doing the 'ghoul necessities'," I suggested.

She looked down again after I said that, "Y-yes."

"Now as I'm saying, I saw you there, then I panicked,"

"Then after that," she continued. "I lost my rationality and decided to kill you."

I swallowed audibly as I reaffirmed my thoughts. As of now, all of what she'd said was connecting by what happened earlier. If she's making all this out, then I'd liked to give her an award for an outstanding story created on the spot.

She looked at me again before asking, "You really don't what happened next?"

"I'll smack your head if you ask me that again," I spat back.

She started fidgeting after I said that, "O-okay then."

"You know," she started. "The moment I tried to strangle your neck to you know… um, kill you,"

She looked at me straight in the eyes, "You started laughing."

Okay, now this is getting confusing.

 _Why the fuck would I laugh?_

I'm freaking dying for god lord's sake, why would I?

I looked at her with disbelieving eyes but she just responded it with a determined look on her face, "I'm not having you on, it's all true, I swear on my family name."

 _I don't give a damn about your family name._

"It got me kind of scared too," she added. "You looked totally crazy."

"That's rich coming from you, miss normal," I told her sarcastically.

"Now," I added. "What's my laughing got to do with the blood?"

As I asked that, as if a light bulb suddenly illuminated in her head, her eyes widen with a curious glint on them, "Before that, can I ask you something?"

I face palmed myself as she asked that, "Aren't you asking already?"

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Say, Hikigaya- kun,"

"Did you know that you're a ghoul?"

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **Notes** : Hey there, I'm back. It's been, what it's like? More than two weeks? I know, I'm not that 'great' to set deadlines to myself, but putting my mind's perspective on that of a reader's, I can say that two weeks of waiting really sucks.

Now, what happened in that two weeks?

Well, if you don't mind, let me share what happened in my holidays.

I got sick, like 'super'. It's probably great that I'm a longhand bastard so I already written down in a notebook my ideas before I got sick, because honestly, just looking at my PC's monitor made me want to puke all of my intestines out. Three days passed, and I was forced to celebrate my new year in a hospital bed.

Yes, I got hospitalized, for the very first time.

You know that sickness those goddam mosquitoes had in their butts? Yeah, that 'Dengue' one.

I was close to dying for good lord's sake.

I first thought that it's just a normal fever so I shrugged it off, but my mum insisted on checking up a doctor. So, by then, as they took me a blood sample for a test, we found out that my blood platelet count was dropping. The doctors told me that the boundary platelet count for my age is 150.

And guess what? I got 121 on my results.

I got confined for two days and it dropped even more.

112.

I was so scared, to be honest, because on the fourth day, the deities might have cursed me and my platelet count dropped into a god damn 98.

I was bleeding. My nose, my ears.

I was so scared for fuck's sake.

Good thing the doctor told us that we can somehow save me by blood transfusion. My blood's compatible with my dad's so there's no problem, he gladly donated. Though it's not sure that I'll get better. I'll also share that this 'Dengue' thingy doesn't have a cure here in my country at the moment. Hydration and proper eating will be my only hope.

But, as if hearing my silent wishes of not dying in the mere age of 18, fate seemed to notice me and decided to help me out.

On my sixth day at the hospital, the doctor told me that my blood platelet count rose to 157.

Another day and I got 198.

Thank all the god's in the heavens, my friends, I was safe.

So now, even though it's short, I'd liked to present you the chapter four (part one) of this story. My plan was to finish the whole chapter off before I post it, but that'll take even longer so I decided to cut it into two parts.

Don't worry, I'm now working on the second part, please look forward to it.

As always, thank you for all the reviews, they inspire me.

Thank you for reading and I'll see you again in the next part.


	5. Chapter 4 part two

**Disclaimer:** I tried to track Watari-sensei to assert my owning rights…

But I can't find him anywhere so I own nothing.

* * *

 **Even Though How Much He Tries to hide,**

 **Trouble Always Seems to Find Him**

 **(part two)**

* * *

I'm one who's proud of my own intellectual capacity. With me ranking third in Japanese, I am at least happy that my aptitude is higher of that which you can call a 'Yuigahama'. But still, even though I don't classify myself as dumb, there're still some questions that even I, who ranked third in Japanese, can't answer.

Math's and sciences aside, anything related to human relations will be a no-no for me. Take my interactions with Orimoto for example. Back in 'that day', she asked me:

"Can we just be friends?"

That time I can just say "Sure, alright" then problem solved. ( _Which I did_.) But deep down, even though how much cliché and corny it may sound, I can say that I'm hurt. Friend, she says? Are friends supposed to avoid each other till graduation? If so, enlighten me, I have no idea. I might have answered her with confirmation back then, but to be honest, that question's still hanging in my head until now.

Now, onto the matter of answering questions, let me tell you that I had a habit of classifying ones that are given to me. Sometimes, I call the answerable one's the 'reasonable', for it's obvious; it's reasonable. The other one's are the 'obvious'; the questions those idiots are still asking even though they already knew the answer. And last will be the 'just wanna ask' questions; those who made no sense and reason. Literally just a question.

To sum it up, I'll say that I have three classifications of questions:

The 'reasonable', 'obvious' and 'just wanna ask'.

 _Pretty simple, isn't it?_

But that made me ask myself. How should I classify this question that was given to me?

"Did you know that you're a ghoul?"

Reasonable? Heck no. Obvious? Obviously not. Just wanna ask? I don't know.

 _Why don't you ask her?_

Yeah right, I'm going to ask her.

Wait, who am I talking to?

 _You're talking to yourself, dumbass._

What?

 _Just ask her, for fuck's sake._

"Uhm," I started. "Okay, I know my looks may be on par with a 'man-eating monster', but, uh…"

If you can't answer the question, take the route number two: The ' _Is that a joke?'_ maneuver.

Using that method, you can confuse the one you're talking to, in which will serve to your advantage. An unexpected ace up the sleeve.

"…what's up with you, joking all of a sudden?"

Hachiman used the technique.

"W-what, wait I-I'm not…"

Wild Meguri's HP was falling, it's super effective!

"Can't you just be serious for a second? I'm totally not joking here!" wild Meguri counter-attacked!

What will be Hachiman's next move?

Hachiman chose to flee, "That's enough, I'm leaving."

Got away safely.

Or so I thought.

The woman before me held the hem of my shirt. Tightly that I almost fell down on my face if I hadn't taken support on the chair in front of me, "P-please! Just hear me out!"

Due to my years along with my damnable sister Komachi, I got this tendency of having a hard time on turning down any girl's request. But no, I'll clarify, I'm not an easy guy. ( _Nor a lolicon!)_ It's just that I always find it hard to leave such creatures behind. Women, I mean. You see, they are supposed to be weaker than men so it'll be our duty to somehow protect them. Even though that's not always the case, it's been drilled in this rotten head of mine.

I took a deep breath and looked at this helpless being kneeling before me, "I suppose I'll play along."

She looked somewhat insulted by what I said but just decided to let it go, "Thank you."

I sat down again on the bed and told her to continue, "Make it quick, it's pretty late now."

It's already quarter to seven, and I'm sure Komachi was now worrying. Too bad I had my phone's battery empty so I can't tell her anything.

"Don't worry," she assured me. "This won't take long."

Taking a long deep breath, she looked at me straight in the eyes, "Hikigaya-kun, I have assumptions of you being a half ghoul."

"And why is that?"

She straightened her back and continued, "Remember that I said you were laughing? I don't know why but you suddenly acted like crazy. It's so scary because you weren't stopping, so I backed off."

"But all of a sudden, you attacked me," she added.

I look at her with disbelieving eyes, "Okay, you're right; I honestly had no idea about what you're ranting about. Now, care to explain what's that got to do with what you're asking me earlier?"

"A-alright, I'm getting there," she responded. "So, as I'm saying, you attacked me and started shouting that nonsense."

"Shouting?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "You started shouting 'I'll never die again!' and other stuffs."

Her answer made me smirk. By smirk, I mean it's the only smirk I could manage; somewhere between a snort and a grimace, "That's so random."

"Go on, continue," I told her.

As I persuaded her, her expression suddenly dropped.

 _A mood swing?_

All at once, she looked depressed, "W-well, as you're shouting, A-akimitsu-san heard you and-"

I quickly cut her off, "Aki-what? Who's that?"

"Akimitsu-san; He's my- I mean, the school guard."

"And what's our school guard's got to do with this?"

If it's some story you're making, you can't suddenly insert a new character onto the scene without a little foreshadowing and additional explanations. Your readers will be confused!

"He, uh… l-let's just say that he helped me," she answered wearily.

"Helped with what?"

Oh boy, this isn't going to be good.

"D-dealing with you… I mean."

"Dealing with me?" I echoed.

She looked down again, while fidgeting slightly, "Y-you're thrashing, and I can't hold you off myself. So uh... I suppose he helped me in restraining you."

I audibly gulped as I heard that, "Don't mind me asking, but what 'restrain' are you referring to?"

"…" I was responded by silence.

"Oi," I called her. "You being too quiet all of a sudden freak me out big time."

"I, uh… *mumbling*"

I got no super-hearing, idiot. Turn on the freaking volume!

"Louder, please."

"He, uh…" she trailed off. "Akimitsu-san uh, c-cut your stomach."

"H-he what?"

Oh please, tell me that I just needed to get some wax out of my ears.

"He cut your stomach."

That response made my blood boil a hundred times higher than the average boiling point temperature. I'm surprised there's still no steam coming out of my ears now.

"Well, no shit, you're having me on."

It took me a lot of effort to not bash her head with this lamp beside me.

She instantaneously stood up and pleaded, "P-please, Hikigaya-kun! It's the truth, I swear!"

I also stood up, asserting my dominance in height, "Truth, you say? How do you expect someone to believe you when you kidnapped them to your place and suddenly told them that they're school-guard's got them disemboweled?"

Her eyes began to water, "I-I know, it sounded really farfetched, but please… please believe me."

I sighed a deep breath and looked at her.

 _I should just be frank with her, don't I?_

"You know? I could just say 'Yeah sure, I believe you' then this will be over, but no, I won't. As I don't want to leave this shit hanging. So senpai, I hate to break this into you, but sorry, I find it really hard in myself to believe you."

I looked at her to see her reaction, but contrary to my expectations, instead of a pissed one, I was greeted by a face adorned with a wry smile.

"I have a feeling it will come to this, but there's no harm in trying, right?"

 _Why the heck are you asking me?_

"Plus, I really don't want to resort into showing you my proof for I know that it'll make you scarred for life."

She sighed as she took something from her pocket, "Here."

She handed me her phone.

"What should I do with this?"

"Please take a look," she told me while pointing at her lit-up phone screen.

I took a peek on the phone she'd given me;

What's on the screen was a photo- an absolutely gory one.

"I'm not a fan of this crap," I said while handing her phone back.

"Look closely, please," she requested. "That's a photo of you taken about an hour ago."

Her words made my eyes drift to the picture again.

 _Oh please, give me a bucket._

"You sure got superb editing skills senpai," I praised her as I look at this abomination.

 _What's in the photo, you ask?_

Well, no big deal;

Just a picture of me lying on a pool of blood with my guts hanging on my ripped open stomach.

"For your information," she told me as I'm busy checking her phone out. "I'm close to ignorant when it came to using computer softwares. You can get that checked by an expert if you want to, but I tell you, that's a legitimate photo."

 _Man, I'm so confused._

If you're going to ask me how confused I was; I'll say that I'll rate it by 200 on a scale of 100.

Damn, if that's still wasn't enough, multiply it by cancer and you'll surely get how I feel.

"T-this," I choked. "This is so… no, I refuse to believe this."

Yes, I refuse. This is some just stupid crap you're forcing on me, no way will I believe this.

"Hikigaya-kun."

No, don't talk, please, for the sake of your face and my sanity.

"Senpai, this is just some prank, right? You sure got some hidden cameras installed in here, don't you?"

She didn't answer me, instead she stood up and picked up my clothes folded on the bed I'm sitting.

"Here are your clothes, just dispose of them if you don't want to get conspicuous. You got some money on you, right? You can take a taxi down there at the waiting shed or you could just walk if you want to."

"W-why are you suddenly…"

No answer again, but she suddenly pulled my hand, making me stand up.

"I know it's hard to take all at once, so I'm giving you some time to think. Approach me whenever you feel up to talk about this. For now, go home and take a long rest. You got one heck of a day… and so am I."

"W-wait, I can't just-"

But even before I could finish my retort, she started pushing me to the door.

"This is an order from your upperclassman. Now, off you go, I still have some matters to deal with."

I want to talk, to say anything, but I know, and it's obvious;

The tightly shut door in front of me won't answer.

* * *

"Yes, Urie-sama, rest assured that I'd removed all possible evidences of your daughter being here."

Back in the deserted Student Council room on Sobu high school, a man clad in a security uniform was sitting on a chair while talking over the phone.

The scene might look normal, only if not for the corpse lying on his feet.

"Oh no, that won't be possible. Someone must take the blame; otherwise, the CCG will get suspicious of this case."

The old man's clothes were streaked with blood, result of him smearing his own self with the blood of the dead body on the floor.

"It's pretty simple, I must say, an old ghoul disguising as a security guard. They won't delve deeper into this, I assure you."

The man gazed upon the stars through the open window and sighed.

"No one knows that I'm connected to the Shiromeguris, but just to be sure, if the investigators ask you, tell them you know nothing of me. That's all I ask."

The chilling breeze of the wind came in, replacing the blood tinged air with a fresh one.

"No, you don't have to be sorry. I know that you already took away my title as a butler long ago, but deep down in this old geezer's heart; I am still the ever reliable bodyguard who once served a helpless teenage git. "

The man inhaled a deep breath while basking on his happy memories.

"You've been a great father, Urie, and I don't want your daughter to face the same fate as her mother. I want you lot to live a longer life than me. So please, let me do this."

The old man stood up and straightened up his coat.

"Yes, of course. My only regret is that I reached the age of 59 being unmarried. Haha, oh yes indeed, I could have. But it can't be helped; I was too busy attending my duties."

"Now, Urie-sama, it's time for me to hang up. I don't know how, but let us somehow meet again."

Someone was still talking on the other side, but the man already pressed the hang up button.

 _What a petty lie_ , the man smiled. _I fully know that we can't ever meet again._

With that, the man dropped his phone down the floor and crushed it with his feet.

After kicking the last remaining shards of broken glass away, the old man directed his gaze onto the dark corner of the room.

"Now, care introducing yourselves, my dear guests?"

After the man talked, like a bunny being dragged out of a magician's hat, two silhouettes appeared.

What emerged from the darkness were two masked girls, one with black coat and one with white.

* * *

 _I knew it; the Shiromeguris were doing shit behind our backs._

Sounds of pen vigorously scratching onto paper can be heard inside room 3-B, just parallel to the open window of the Student Council room.

Inside was a man attentively watching and recording the happenings on his journal. With the help of the binoculars hanging on his neck, he clearly saw everything.

 _The school-guard's a ghoul, this will be a blast._

 _Moreover, that bastard's daughter; who knew that she's also some disgusting piece of shit._

He clearly saw it with his own two eyes, how that bitch swiftly jumped onto the poor girl and ripped her flesh out.

 _More importantly, Hikigaya Hachiman, huh?_

 _No wonder they are interested with him._

The man sat below the window and pondered with his back leaning against the wall.

 _But how? My investigations shows that he lived his seventeen years as a human. No more, no less._

 _Plus, it irked me how only his one eyes was different._

The investigator inhaled a deep breath while analyzing his thoughts.

 _A half-breed, perhaps? No, that's not possible._

 _And why are they putting more attention on that boy's… hospitalization?_

The man's eyes widened straightaway.

 _Wait, he got operated that time, right?_

Implausible thoughts began to run inside the investigators head.

 _Is this the reason why they wanted me to look out for him?_

The man discarded his current thoughts as he stood up again, facing the window.

 _Ugh, I'll deal with that shit later._

Putting his binoculars on, he looked again inside the open window of the StuCo room.

 _Holy shit…_

The man cursed to himself as he saw what's happening inside.

"T-three of them?"

Last time he looked, there's only one man inside the room, but now, there are two more.

And they're fighting; two on one.

 _I even let the other two go earlier so I could deal with him alone…_

He desperately wanted to climb up the ranks; and dealing with this type of a ghoul will let him get what he wanted. But no matter which way you look at it, he can't take three ghouls at once.

"Oh, screw promotion," he took his phone from his pocket. "I'm calling back-up."

'Guhaa!'

But as the man was about to dial on his phone, a sudden pain assaulted his back.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Investigator-kun."

A voice talked behind him.

He wanted to look, but he's in so much pain he couldn't do so.

"W-who the fuck are you," he choked as blood began to flow from above his throat.

Out of the blue, the pain in his back intensified as he heard a sound of something being plucked out from flesh.

"Me?" the unseen entity talked. "You can just call me 'doc'."

Being able to move, he looked at his attacker.

"Y-you…"

It shocked the hell out of him, as he somehow recognized this person.

 _The one who operated Hikigaya Hachiman._

"Y-you're that…"

"Yes I am," the man answered nonchalantly.

"And mind you," he added. "It's rude to spy on someone else's creation without their permission."

The investigator inhaled a deep breath, the pain in his back subsiding, though the flow of blood wasn't stopping.

 _He's just an old chap._

"Heh, permission, you ask," the investigator said. "Well, I, Shougou Kukiyama, third class, requests permission to take you down!"

He stood up while baring his fists, ready to strike his attacker.

'Uegh!'

But even before he could pose a stance, he got blown away onto the wall.

The gray-haired man before him sighed with his arm outstretched, "You're being too cocky and it's annoying."

The investigator was in complete pain, the attack took a blow out of him. But what's bothering him is that old man's strength;

 _That was just a punch, what the fuck?_

As if reading his thoughts, the old man said, "I'm not just your regular old geezer, idiot."

"You'll already die with that much blood lost on you," he added. "So just let me make it quick, alright?"

He posed his feet to kick the investigator's face.

"Sweet dreams."

With a sound that disturbed the silence of the room, the limp body of the investigator fell down the floor.

"That was so easy," the man opened the door. "I wonder how the two girls were doing."

And with that, the man left the scene and strode to the other room.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the investigator's journal fell over the window and onto the grassy ground, waiting to be picked up by someone.

* * *

"Say, ladies, why don't we just stop this nonsense. I see absolutely no point in having this fight."

Akimitsu offered diplomacy as he's busy dodging the barrage of blows from the two girls attacking him. He honestly had no idea why they are doing this, and he's not one who loves to hurt women, so all he can do is to evade over and over again.

He directed his gaze on his assaulters' expressionless masks, "Not the chatty types, I suppose?"

Based on their height, the old man can assume that they're young; and younglings wasn't supposed to just suddenly attack even in the rage of blood.

This just means one thing; they are following orders.

He ducked over the table as a swing from the black coated girl's kagune aimed a blow on his head.

 _They're too slow_ , Akimitsu thought. _And no matter what, as long as no one dominates, this farce won't end._

He got no other choice; Akimitsu activated his kagune and jumped from below the table.

The two girls can only utter gasps as they are presented with speed no old man can do.

"I'm sorry," Akimitsu apologized as he instantly appeared behind the white-coated girl.

He swung his blades onto the back of her knee, rendering her immobile.

"Shiro!" the black-coated girl spoke for the first time.

Blood sprinkled down the tiled-floor as the wounded girl fell down, along with her mask.

Akimitsu can only inhale a sharp breath as he looked at the white-coated girl's unmasked face.

 _What's with me meeting one-eyed ghouls today?_

He looked at the girl standing from his left, pose bared to attack, "I suppose you're one-eyed too?"

She didn't answer.

But Akimitsu doesn't mind, as there's something more important he needed to put his attention to.

 _There's someone in the back._

What came next were sounds of footsteps.

Akimitsu quickly spun around while performing a perfect roundhouse kick. His foot connected with a full mass and something was blown away onto the wall.

"That's very impressive of you," Akimitsu said to the man leaning against the wall. "What speed, even for an old man."

The man before him spat blood from his mouth, "Same goes to you Ojii-san"

Akimitsu smirked, "Quite the humorous fellow we got here. Now, mind explaining why you're suddenly attacking me?"

"Oh, we just needed your help with something," the gray-haired man stood up. "Though you can only do that by dying."

"That request was sickly unreasonable, I'm afraid I have to refuse."

"Oh no, you got it wrong, old-ghoul-san," the man in front of him opened a large briefcase beside him. "That's not a request, but an order."

What came out inside the briefcase were a cluster of purple-colored tentacles, forming a shape of a saber.

"Quinque, isn't it?" Akimitsu asked, marveling on a weapon he hadn't seen in years. "Are you in the CCG?"

The armed man snorted at his question, "Don't even ask, that place's crap as hell."

"Anyway," he added while presenting the 'quinque' he's holding. "Yes, it is a quinque, quite a nice piece, right?"

"Indeed," Akimitsu agreed. "Though I doubt that will be useful against me."

Akimitsu might be on the edge of his age, but his skill is still as formidable as ever.

The man holding the posed weapon laughed heartily, "O-oh yes, I'm sure it will."

His reaction earned a frown from Akimitsu, "What makes you so sure-"

Midway, he stopped.

He noticed it, his joints were stiffening and his movements were getting sluggish.

"W-what did you do?" Akimitsu asked as he started getting out of breath.

Still smiling gleefully, the man pointed at his side, "Look."

He felt it, as he laid his eyes on what the man was pointing at. There's a syringe stuck in his side.

He instantly pulled it off, "W-what is this?"

"That? Well, they're called RC suppressants," the man answered him with a triumphant smile. "Formulated that myself, glad to see it working."

 _S-suppressants?_

Akimitsu wasn't ready, the man before him suddenly shouted, "Kuro, on his back!"

"Hai, papa."

On normal cases, their movements will look very slow on his perspective. But now, he can't do anything but watch as two blurs rushed on his direction.

 _Goodness, I was too careless._

"It's a shame I can't use your kagune," he heard someone talk as a barrage of stabs and blows assaulted his body. "You're koukaku will make a good quinque."

After that, below the dim light of the moonlit sky coming in from the window, Akimitsu lied down on the floor with his body ripped apart.

* * *

Wiping the streaks of blood on his coat, Kanou Akihiro looked at the two girls kneeling down the floor.

"How's Shiro?" he asked the black-coated girl.

"She's healing," the one tending the bleeding white-haired girl responded.

Kanou clicked his tongue quietly, _What a bunch of weaklings._

The two girls' were a result of his experiments. They're successful, though they're just too weak.

 _They can even be considered as floppies only if they haven't produced kagunes._

He looked at the two girls again, "We'll make it look like they killed each other. I have to leave, make it as clean as possible."

The two girls responded in chorus, "Understood, papa."

After getting out of the room, Kanou smiled to himself.

 _Forget the useless goodies, I got a very great one._

He took his phone from his pocket and dialed someone.

A few rings later and someone talked from the other side of the line, "What is it?"

"Scratch my initial report," Kanou smiled. "He's good news."

There's a moment of silence first, then a cheerful voice of a woman responded to him.

"I told you."

* * *

Have you ever been in a state where you're doubting yourself? No, not in the 'self-depreciating' way of thinking that you can't do anything. I mean when you're doubting 'yourself.' Your very existence. When you're doubting if the 'you' you used to know were still… you. Basically, when you're no longer sure of who or what you really are.

As for me; yes, I have.

I don't want to explain further but I'm having a serious identity crisis right now.

I'm currently lying on my bed with my pajamas on. I'm really dying to sleep, to be honest. But my head's failing me, so no matter how many times I twist and turn here like an idiot, I can't ever reach my desired slumber.

My brain's completely stuffed with thoughts normal humans can't comprehend. I'm in a state where I'm now asking myself what is normal and what is not.

 _Damn, even my monologues sounded weird now._

Anyway, if you're wondering, I got home at about eight in the evening, and what greeted me was a berserk

Komachi on the front door. The next scene consisted of me being berated by my little sister. Though it honestly amused me how she was so interested on why I'm wearing different clothes other than my uniform. My initial plan was to just tell her that I needed to borrow my male classmate's clothes because I got soaked in a bathroom malfunction. But even before I could execute my alibi, she started sniffing me like a Doberman.

"O-onii-chan…" Komachi looked at me with a horrified expression. "T-these were girl's clothes! R-right!?"

I don't know what got in my head when I suddenly told her "It's from my senpai" that time.

It was probably a good thing that I looked so worn out for she let me off till tomorrow for an explanation.

 _Oh brother…_ **[1]**

I stuffed my head in my pillow and forced myself to sleep.

 _Don't worry for tomorrow, for tomorrow's me will worry about himself._

…

You know what?

 _Screw you, past me!_

Nothing really beats waking up in the morning with a crap ton of burdens ahead of you, huh?

I stood up from my bed and head for the bathroom.

 _Screw fixing my bed._

I looked at the mirror and what greeted me was an expression that will make an infant scarred for the rest of its life.

I did the rest of my morning routine in autopilot mode. Even my eating seemed so sluggish that it made Komachi postpone her 'interrogation part two'. I managed to finish this whole early morning ordeal with just grumbling a simple goodbye to my sister.

 _Please, don't hate me for this. I'm just going through a phase._

I head outside to get my bike. But as I looked to the thing that's supposed to be there, I realized something;

 _I didn't brought home my bike yesterday, did I?_

That means I have to walk for today.

 _What a bother…_

* * *

I reached the school with no particular event happening- which I were very glad to.

Walking to my classroom, I noticed that some of the students were adorned with such disbelieving faces. Some of them were huddled up together and mumbling something, probably talking about the latest gossip.

I passed over them and continued walking.

 _I have no business on those riajuus' antics._

To be honest, though I'm trying my best to look calm, this lingering uneasiness from before still wasn't leaving me.

As I'm about to open the door of Class 2-F, a thought passed through my mind.

 _Am I forgetting something?_

* * *

 _Oh yes, of course, I'm forgetting something._

"We'll have no first period for today. Everyone, head to the auditorium; the principal's got something to say."

 _Yes, how could I forget?_

"An announcement?"

"Well geez, glad less work for today."

Different reactions earned Hiratsuka-sensei's words. Some are confused, while some are happy about not having first period.

 _Well, as for me…_

"Fuck this."

* * *

"I'm sorry for making you huddle up here out of the blue," the principal apologized on the microphone.

Many students are irritated due to this early morning fiasco this school's having.

Though those irritated faces were drowned by the grieving faces every school staff were having.

"Please, listen, my dear students," the principal started. "For I have a very important matter to tell you."

Every student inside the auditorium shut their mouths as they heard the serious tone on the principal's voice.

The principal cleared his throat, "It's in my great sorrow to tell you that Nase Sakura, a bonafide student and current student council secretary of this school, died yesterday."

Disbelieving mumblings can be heard on every corner of the large room.

Though for me, I just sat there, as expressionless as ever.

But even though I have this hard-shell exterior for people to see, my insides were crumpling up like mad right now.

I steeled myself that what happened yesterday was just a nightmare. Something that can be forgotten through time without anyone worrying. But no, as I listen to those mutterings and what the principal was saying, I can only sit there, as stiff as fuck.

"She died here inside the school premises, inside the student council room, to be precise."

"Police investigations shown that Ms. Nase was killed by our school guard, Akimitsu Hiro," he added.

I looked around to see the wide-eyed expressions the students were having.

"She was killed the moment she tried to defend herself from getting raped."

Everyone gasped at those words.

Many decided to go out of the auditorium, unable to hear what the principal's got more to say.

I was one of them. The one who decided to go out, I mean.

Not because I'm a god damn softie.

Not because I just like to copy those bastards.

But because I'm pissed.

Pissed of what I'm hearing and what nonsense this old chap's ranting about.

I head outside the auditorium door with a look that scared the hell out of the students walking alongside me.

 _Damn idiots, you're being seriously bamboozled._

* * *

Inside the bathroom stall of a certain establishment, while Hachiman was busy having his raging moment, a certain middle-aged man was having a hard contemplation while watching the running tap water.

 _Shougou was killed by a ghoul_ , he thought. _That bastard, always taking things up by himself._

He might look spiteful, but deep down, the CCG investigator was hurt. Though he's not someone who delves on things such as sentiments, the death of his squad member took a chunk out of him.

Shougou Kukiyama might be on the lowest ranks of the Atou squad but he was still a big loss.

Ranks aside, he was their dear friend, after all.

Closing the faucet, the investigator sat above the bathroom sink and took an envelope from his bag.

Shougou Kukiyama's autopsy report.

He opened it and skimmed through its contents;

Death by massive blood loss due to a deep stab on the back. Tests shows signs of kagune remnants on the wound, concluding to be a work of a ghoul's. Some signs of received blunt attacks due to some bruises and mild swelling.

 _So, he fought, huh?_ he mused. _But got stabbed in the back._

 _That was so like hi-_

 _Wait, what?_

 _Stabbed?_

The man got off the sink and began rummaging for the other envelope in his bag.

Rank S, Akimitsu Hiro (subjugated by Shougou Kukiyama);

59, working as a night-shift guard at Sobu high school. No recent records of affiliations with other ghouls or organizations. Wields a sword type koukaku. Not so durable but great for slashing. 2.5 feet long stretching from his left shoulder blade to his left arm. Width of more than half feet, exceeding that of-

The man closed the envelope, smile painted in his face.

 _Bingo._

That old man's kagune was half feet wide, while Shougou's stab wound on the back measures a diameter of 3 inches and 7 inches deep.

 _No two ways about it_ , he thought. _It wasn't that man._

No matter which way you look at it; that stab wound was way smaller than that old man's kagune.

Plus, his koukaku was best suited for slashing, not for god damn stabbing.

 _I'm sure of it_ , he convinced himself. _There's an outsider going around here._

The investigator returned the envelopes back in his bag and faced the bathroom mirror.

What greeted him was the reflection of Yukio Kudowara, first class investigator and deputy squad leader of the Atou squad.

 _For the death of Shougou_ , he resolved. _And for my curiosity, of course._

 _Whoever you are, I'll hunt you down._

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **Omake:** Yukinoshita's Ghoul Fetishes

 **Note** : This idea was solely based on an Attack on Titan parody I'd watched on YouTube yesterday.

(A Slap on Titan) All credits belong to the owners, I just did a 'little' wishy-washy and here's what we got.

 **Warning** : Contains a bunch of offensive words and extreme OOC-ness.

* * *

On a regular day inside the Service Clubroom, three people decided to do something different.

They are watching an anime, titled Tokyo Ghoul.

It may look weird depending on the case they were in, but what's even weirder is the expression the raven-haired girl was having.

Yukinoshita: He's not like the others. He's so strong, and tragic, and hot.

As if on cue, the boy with rotten eyes looked at her with an even more rotten expression.

Hikigaya: Yukinoshita, that's a ghoul. He's literally a 'man-eating' bastard with an emo-haircut.

Not even Google can describe the look she'd given him.

Yukinoshita: Well you guys always have shit about girls all the time, why was it that I was the one who'll talk about a guy, suddenly it's not okay?

Hikigaya: Yeah, those are human. Women, not ghoul. Nobody wants to fuck a ghoul but you, Yukinoshita.

Suddenly, the pink-haired girl fiddling on her phone talked.

Yuigahama: A 'man-eating' woman bid to make a meal out of mankind? Speak for yourself, Hikki.

Yukinoshita: I never said that I would bang a ghoul.

Promptly, Hikigaya stood up from his seat, toppling his chair over.

Hikigaya: Doesn't matter! You fantasizing about a ghoul was just wrong.

Mirroring the boy in front of him, Yukinoshita also stood up.

Yukinoshita: Oh yeah? Looks like I got many options. Tell me, what's a girl supposed to dream about? You, Hikigaya-kun? With your little-dwarf biceps? Or… Totsuka?

Out of the blue, the door opened and revealed a figure of a scrawny… boy?

Totsuka: Yes!

Hikigaya: No.

Totsuka: The 'bang master'.

Hikigaya walked to the door and banged it shut.

Hikigaya: NO!

The black-haired girl directed her gaze again to the laptop, drool spilling from her mouth.

Yukinoshita: Just look at him; that flowing white hair, the grieving face…

Hikigaya: Oh yeah? Look at that, maybe if you're really naughty, emo-ghoul will nimble your head up along with stupid that hair ribbon of yours!

The girl's eyes widened as she heard that.

Yukinoshita: Oh my god, yes, that would be so hot.

Hikigaya walked to Yukinoshita's direction with a weird look on his face.

Hikigaya: Wait, Yukinoshita, when was the last time you removed that thing?

He pointed at her hair.

Yukinoshita: What do you mean?

Hikigaya: Yukinoshita! When was the last time you removed that hair ribbon?

Yukinoshita: …never.

That made Hikigaya fell on his butt.

Hikigaya: What?

Yuigahama: I feel like a dirty-little vacuum cleaner…

Hikigaya: You're telling me that even before your very first appearance in season one; you haven't washed or changed that hair ribbon once?

The girl who had her eyes closed peeked on the kneeling boy before her.

Yukinoshita: It was given to me by the animators, so shut up; I'm in the middle of picturing something.

Hikigaya: Jesus fucking Christ. Can you imagine how dirty that thing is? It must be crawling with any kind of bug possible.

Yuigahama: Ruffletrump!

Yukinoshita: It warms the darkness of my soul, got anything like that Hikigaya-kun?

Hikigaya stood up with a furious look clad in his red face.

Hikigaya: No! But at least I'm not like 'captain old ribbons' over here, walking along with my dirty rag like some mangy-fucking dog. How many kids had you killed from 'ribbon-disease'?

Without them knowing, Yuigahama skidded off onto Yukinoshita's side, her hand slowly drifting in her hair.

Yuigahama: That ribbon's probably saturated with your dead scalp cells. Yukinon, please, let me get a whiff!

Yukinoshita pushed her with all her might.

Yukinoshita: Both of you fuck off! I have fantasies to think about!

The pink-haired girl looked at her with watery eyes while sporting a bump on her forehead.

Yuigahama: But Yukinon!

Hikigaya held Yuigahama on the shoulder and looked at her with discouraged eyes.

Hikigaya: Face it Yuigahama, none of us were getting what we want today.

Those words lighten up the fire inside the girl's heart.

Yuigahama: But, but… I AM A STEAMING CAULDRON OF SEXUAL NEEDS AND DESIRES RIGHT NOW!

Yukinoshita: Shut up, Yuigahama-san! I'm trying to fucking concentrate!

The boy looked at her while pointing at himself.

Hikigaya: And what about me? I came here because I want you!

The girl also looked at him while pointing at the anime character being presented on the laptop.

Yukinoshita: And I want that ghoul!

Yuigahama: AND I WANT A WOOL SOCK!

Everyone in the room looked at Yuigahama with horrified faces.

Yuigahama: Oh shit… did I just say that out loud?

Hikigaya: I knew it, Yukinoshita. You do want to fuck a ghoul.

Yukinoshita: You know what, Hikigaya-kun? Yeah I do! I want to bang that ghoul so hard, and I want you to watch, just so you can see what you're missing!

Hikigaya: You say that like it's a drawback!

Yukinoshita: GO FUCK YOURSELF!

Hikigaya (in a Mickey Mouse voice): Hey look at me, I'm Yukinoshita, and I can't control my raging ovaries.

Yukinoshita unplugged the tea-making machine and held it overhead.

Yukinoshita: Say one more word, goddamit! Say one more word, I will fucking bash your head off!

No one dared to talk after that threat.

Yukinoshita: That's what I thought.

Or so she thought.

Hikigaya (still on Mickey Mouse voice): Bitch.

* * *

 **References:**

Suzumiya Haruhi reference. Kyon's exasperated catchphrase.

* * *

 **Note:** Back with the continuation! Yay! Did you folks saw that book cover I made? Please tell me how you feel about it in the reviews, I would really love to hear what you got to say about that.

Now, on to responding to the reviews:

 **TheLaughingStalkerino** , yes, she'll be 'one' of those bridges that will lead Hikki into this fucked-up world.

 **Mr. Self-Depreciation** , thank you so much, here's the update for you.

 **Mokkel** , don't feel bad, mate. I was also cursing myself that time from not being able to update, LOL.

 **Fakker** , thank you, and I do hope that you continue on reading this fic.

 **Echonic** , I honestly have no idea that it's rare. Either way, I love drawing, so why not?

 **tsun** , thanks! Here's the part two for you.

 **Curima** , hope you stay safe out there, man. Anyway, I highly recommend you check out TG (the anime or manga, doesn't matter to me.) It's great shit, honestly. It's worth your time, guaranteed.

 **SilentXD7** , thank you so much.

If some of you are wondering if I forgot about the OC Nishino Yuuki, I'll say no, I didn't. Hikki just have a lot going on his mind atm so he can't think about her.

She'll appear on my next updates.

That's it for now. Please leave reviews, I'll appreciate 'em all!

See you guys again in the next chapter.

Peace out.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Wataru Watari owns My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu, Ishida Sui owns Tokyo Ghoul, while my girlfriend owns the spare key.

* * *

 **Even So, He Insists to Live a Normal Life**

* * *

A dimly-lit room.

Sound of ragged breathing.

The smell of blood.

I walked through the corridor on my bare foot.

Do I even know where I am?

No, I don't think so. I haven't been here before.

Nor I'll decide to go here.

A door, a creaky old one is waiting before me.

I walked on tip-toes as the suspicious sounds emitting from the door got louder and louder.

Suddenly, the sounds ceased and I was engulfed in silence.

I steeled myself and decided to move forward.

Something, someone is inside that door.

But on a spur of moment…

'Clang'

Out came the clanging of chains.

'AAARRRGGH!'

And the shouting of someone.

Screw walking, I ran as best as I could.

Those screams, they sound sorrowful, as if calling out for someone.

I have to get there, I have to save whoever that was.

I ran…

And ran…

And ran.

But then, a sudden force made me stop and fell on my face.

Did I tripped myself?

No, I don't think so.

I swallowed a breath as deep as the pit forming in my stomach.

'Clang'

Chains, rusty from being left through time are being chained on me.

My arms, my legs. My every limb is rendered immobile.

I tried my best to break free, but no matter how much force I exert, only the sickening clanging sound of chains responded my efforts.

My skin is getting torn from the friction of being rubbed from steel.

Blood seeped from my limbs.

I shouted with all the sound my vocal chords could muster.

I shouted as much as I could, even if it tore my throat to pieces.

Please… please, someone… anyone.

But then, a sudden flash of light reflected on my face.

I looked up, hope painted in my eyes.

But what greeted me was just an open door. The one at the end of the corridor.

Inside was nothing. Not one thing.

Just an empty room.

I looked at myself, then I realized…

The smell of blood.

The ragged breathing.

The clanging of chains.

All of them… even the desperate shouting.

…was from none other than… me.

…

'Ahgk!'

I gasped for breath as my lungs refused to supply me with air. Taking long deep breaths, I looked around me. What reflected my eyes is the very definition of my room. I'm currently sitting at my study desk with my homework sprawled over, smeared with a pool of drool.

 _Just a dream._

Maybe it really scared the hell out of me, my legs are still shaking. So I inhaled a deep breath, held it for about ten seconds and breathed out.

'Haah…'

I did that over and over again until I've calmed myself down.

 _I really should stop reading those horror novels._

I stood up from my seat and started crumpling all of the sticky pieces of paper on my desk. Screw myself for deciding to sleep with my homework as a drool-pad. Now I have to rewrite this again or I'll get a nice beating tomorrow from sensei.

After I discarded my useless works down the trash bin, I head outside my room to fetch a glass of water. My throat's got dry all of a sudden.

Looking at the clock stuck at the kitchen wall, I saw that it's now already six in the evening. If you're wondering, I got home from school at about early this afternoon. The principal decided to cut the lectures half day to give us some breather. I guess he realized that his sudden announcement might have shocked a crap ton of students so he let us go home early for today. Early dismissal also means that I hadn't attended club, though I sent my goodbyes to Yuigahama when I bumped on her while exiting the auditorium.

It's probably great that I don't have to meet those two as I don't want to talk about this issue anymore.

No… well at least not for now.

I took a tumbler inside the fridge and started chugging its contents. Releasing a deep sigh from quenching my thirst, I head to the living room to look for Komachi.

And there she is, sleeping on the sofa with her clothes sprawled open, revealing a great amount of her skin.

 _And that's my shirt you're wearing, you thief._

I took a pillow and held it overhead.

 _Wakey-wakey, you sleepy head~_

I slammed the pillow onto her head.

 _Not waking up, huh?_

I slammed again.

 _No response._

And again…

Feathers began to fly across the living room.

And again…

 _Man, this is getting fun._

But as I'm posing my fifth strike of the 'deadly pillow smash', my face is assaulted with a force that made me stumble on my back. Caressing my butt that feels sore from getting fell from, I looked at the source of the attack.

In front of me is a disgruntled Komachi, holding a pillow with her both hands.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Onii-chan?"

"Waking you up."

"Can't you just wake me up by normal means?"

No, I can't. As you're the one who won't wake up even if the house you're sleeping in is on fire.

"I find it easier to wake you that way."

"Oh yeah, well you know what, Onii-chan?" she looked at me with a impish grin on her face. "An eye for an eye."

She instantly jumped off the sofa and posed a stance with the pillow on her hand.

"Get ready, for admiral Komachi will take your defenses down!"

 _So, that's what you want, huh?_

I guess I'll play along.

"You think you can beat me, dumbass? No one can ever beat the mighty god of war Hachiman!"

I ran on her direction and rammed my pillow on her face.

"That's not enough to take me down!"

She counterattacked by hitting my face with her own pillow as soon as she stood up.

Darn it, that made made me dizzy.

 _But a Hachiman never backs down._

"Arrrrghhh!" I shouted a war cry as I channel my ultimate attack.

'Deadly Mighty Swing of Justice!'

She responded my scream with her signature shout.

"Uryaaaa!"

But even before our attacks reach our respective targets, an amused voice stopped us in the middle of our tracks.

"Just what in the world are you two doing?"

Mum and dad stood on the front door clad in their work clothes.

I can only stutter an answer as I looked at them with a face as red as a freshly-picked tomato,"P-pillow fight?"

…

Dinner is always supposed to be as boring as ever, with only me and Komachi eating on the table while sharing our own tales and adventures of the day. I'm used to it, though, so I really am not complaining.

Now why I'm recollecting these thoughts again?

"Set the table, Hachiman, I'm preparing the chicken."

Yeah, there you go.

My parents suddenly decided to go home early than usual. I'm not used to it, though I'm not complaining.

I began taking the tableware on the kitchen cabinet and placed them on the table.

"What's up with you going home early, mum?" Komachi asked as she's helping mum with preparing the take-out dinner my parents bought.

"Something's up on work," mum responded. "But it's a great thing, right? We haven't eaten dinner together for so long."

"Yeah, I'm glad," Komachi flashed her a bright smile. "What about you, dad?"

"Same as your mum," dad answered her while sitting on the table. "Now hurry, I'm starving."

"Roger."

…

After I finished setting the table up, we sat on our respective places and clapped our hands in chorus.

"Itadakimasu."

We dug in after we said our thanks. This scene really is rare but it's not that bad, I guess. It's been… what it's like? Since when I was still a middle-schooler that we'd eaten together like this. After that, they always had to go home late from work for they have to butt themselves harder for me and Komachi's future.

 _Thank you so much, mum and dad, for being such hardworking parents._

Though I wish you restrain yourself, my dear father, that's your god damn fourth piece of chicken!

"Hachiman."

Suddenly, I heard my dad call me as I'm busy tucking in my meal.

I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth, "Yes, dad?"

As I look at him, I noticed that dad is sporting a very serious expression.

"You know? There's been a rumor going round my workplace about a girl getting killed at your school."

He exhaled a deep breath as he looked at me, "Say, is that true?"

 _Oh please, not this time…_

"Dear, just what kind of rumor was that-"

"Yes, it's true," I cut off my mum's question as I answered dad.

Mum can only look at me horrified as she heard me, "W-what?"

"I see," dad said as he leaned his back against his chair. "Mind telling us what happened?"

Yes, I mind. But there's no way I got a choice to refuse, is there?

I sighed as I put down my chopsticks, "The principal told us that she got killed by the…"

 _She got killed by whom again?_

Suddenly, images of the ex-president of my school's student council crossed my mind.

"…by the school guard."

 _But there's no way I'll tell them what I know._

That news might have shocked mum so hard that she started stuttering for her words.

"H-how?"

 _Alright, Principal-san, I'll be riding your deception train for a while._

"…rape."

That shut mum as she realized that it's a very sensitive issue to talk above the table.

Then there is a long awkward moment of silence. The crickets started chirping as if suddenly remembering their existence.

But dad decided to break the awkwardness by asking me, "Do you want to transfer schools, son? I guess I can manage."

Transfer? Not a bad offer, I suppose? I can probably pick a better school if get lucky.

But that made me ask myself. Do I want to leave Sobu?

That school imprinted a heavy image on my mind that I'm sure I'll be carrying for the rest of my life. Not to mention that there's a looming threat just walking through that school's corners.

But even so, do I really want to leave?

My mind wandered back to that tea-scented room. My exchanges of insults from the one who's obsessed with cats, the laughter of a certain pink haired girl, and the occasional visits of a certain sly-fox.

"No dad, it's alright."

Yeah, it's all good. No way will I leave the Service Club behind.

"I see."

As if on cue, mum directed her gaze to Komachi, "Maybe you should reconsider sitting your entrance exams at Sobu, Komachi."

That made a shocked Komachi look at her, "W-wha? No mum, i-it's alright… I guess."

Komachi had a tendency of not being able to express her thoughts in front of our parents when it came to serious matters like this. She's been like that long ago, and it's troubling me. I'm the only one she says her thoughts to so I guess I should help her out this time.

"Mum, we're all shocked. But please don't let that issue affect Komachi's career choices. And besides, the school had heightened their security on max levels to avoid this matter from happening again."

Komachi had her hopes on passing at Sobu. I always knew it. No matter what her reasons are for wanting to attend the same school as I am, I'll support her.

 _Damn, I am such a great Onii-chan._

Dad looked at mum and agreed with my opinions, "He got a point, Haruhi."

But mum wasn't backing down, "But dear-"

"Plus, I'll be there too, I won't let a single bug get past me."

I made sure to add those to reassure them.

Soon after I finished talking, Komachi looked at me with a disgusted face "It feels weird that I'm not so reassured by your words…"

"Oh shut it," I retorted and looked at mum. "What do you think, mum?"

Mum wasn't ready from being asked all of a sudden, "W-well, I can't stop you when you're being so adamant, can I?"

That made dad snort, "You're one to talk."

Dad's remark earned a frown from mum, "Just shut up."

She looked at me, "Alright, I'm fine with this for now. But keep in mind that you two's safety will be my and your father's first priority."

Me and Komachi responded in chorus, "Understood."

"And when Komachi will be attending your school," she added. "I'll be counting that you'll look out for her."

I flashed her a thumbs-up, "No problem, I'll keep an eye on her 24/7."

"N-no I don't mean-"

"And swat every bug that gets too close to her."

Out of the blue, dad appeared behind me and patted my shoulder, "That's my son. I'm so proud of you."

Mum can only look at us slack-jawed after that.

…

After we finished licking our plates clean and sat ourselves on the living room sofa, my mum surprisingly decided to be a magician and took an ice cream out of nowhere.

'Tadaa!'

"Where did you get that?" dad asked her with an astounded expression.

"You didn't know?" mum asked him as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I bought it while we're walking home."

Dad facepalmed himself as he heard that, "So that's why you suddenly disappeared…"

"Hehe," mum laughed as she head to the kitchen. "The unseen ice cream is the deadliest."

 _Wait, was that a reference just now?_

Mum exited the scene as she's about to divide the ice cream for us.

Then as if waiting for mum to leave, Komachi whispered to dad, "Hey dad, I got some good stuff here."

"Spill it," dad looked at her with a curious expression.

"You know," Komachi paused to emphasize her point. "Onii-chan came home late last night while wearing girl's clothes."

Oh damn it.

Somehow, it baffled me how dad didn't show any reaction to that, instead, he looked at Komachi with serious eyes.

"Komachi," he called her. "Nothing gets past your mum's ears."

Oh damn it indeed.

Mum instantly appeared behind me with a mischievous smile on her face.

"I didn't know you swing that way, Hachiman," she told me while gripping my shoulder tightly.

 _M-m-mum, you're scaring me._

"Me neither."

 _Oh c'mon, not you too dad!_

I can't let these imbeciles ruin my dignity so I retorted back, "T-those are unisex clothes!"

But Komachi isn't letting me off the hook, "But they smell of a girl's, I tell you!"

 _Damn it, why are you being so worked up about this?_

That made mum's expression got even darker.

"And pray tell us, Hachiman, why you're wearing girl's clothes last night."

 _Why am I even wearing girl's clothes last night?_

Oh right, that's because I'm freaking soaked in blood and I got no other clothes to wear.

But that won't get me out of this, will it? If worse, that will make this issue even harder to deal with.

 _Come on, Hachiman, think something!_

Think…

Think…

Think…

Brainblast!

"I'm inside the school bathroom that time when the freaking water faucet exploded on my face. I was completely soaked when I got out and I incidentally bumped with my senpai. Maybe she took pity on me and offered me to take a change of clothes at her place."

And the first place of 'on the spot story making' goes to…

Cue drumroll.

'Bah-Dum-Bah-Dum-Bah-Dum.'

Me, of course.

Mum doesn't seem to accept my answer and pried deeper, "Can't you just borrow some spare gym clothes?"

"It's already pretty late that time, besides, her place's just two blocks away from school."

 _You're fucking smooth, Hachiman. So smooth._

That made mum rethink her suspicions.

But she suddenly asked, "What's her name?"

 _Should I tell her?_

"S-shiromeguri Meguri."

I got no other choice, I don't have many senpais I interact with.

"Are you close with her?"

 _Just what kind of question was that?_

"N-no, not really."

"You sure?"

"Y-yeah."

"Then why would she go out of her way just to help you?"

 _Say, are you an undercover investigator, mum?_

"She's the former student council president," I told her. "Maybe it's her habit to help out her fellow students."

 _And that's it. Curtain call, and we're out._

Mum nodded to herself, still looking unconvinced, "I see."

But she settled to just drop the subject for now and said nothing more.

 _Haah… I survived._

As mum got out of the room, I'm surprised to see Komachi sitting too close to me.

"Don't worry Onii-chan, I'm so glad for you."

 _W-what are you-_

"Hachiman," dad skidded of the other side and patted my head. "My son's already being a man, I'm so happy."

 _Oh fuck off._

I'm sorry, but I find my bed more fun to interact than you two. I stood up, ignoring Komachi's pouting and set off to my room.

 _I deserve a good night's sleep after all this._

…

'KRRRNG!'

You know what's the evilest thing ever created in this world? No, not atomic bombs, deadlines nor anime traps.

But alarm clocks.

'KRRRNG!'

People always say that alarm clocks are necessary for everyone; working or not. A device that repulses the tyranny of oversleeping.

'KRRRNG!'

But they're wrong. All of them who deludes on things such as punctuality are nothing but victims.

Victims of this bullshit idea that 'being early is a virtue'.

'KRRRNG!'

Just face it, have you ever found the ringing of your alarm clock pleasant to hear? No, because everyone hates to be woken up by such an annoying thing. No, because everyone loves sleeping.

Therefore, everyone hates the existence of alarm clocks.

'KRRRNG!'

So why do they even exist?

The only thing it does is reminding us of our daily slavery.

On school, on work and even on our homes.

'KRRRNG!'

So that's why, everyone who were in the industry of manufacturing these abominations should be sued for committing the crime of violating human rights.

Rights of being able to have a nice and relaxing sleep.

'KRRR-'

I swung my fist onto my bedside table.

'SILENCE'

I took my sheets over me and descended into my peaceful world of slumber.

 _Much better._

…

"…ey you!"

On a different matter, just this morning, I found the only thing that makes this fucked-up world worth living at.

"… et, up!"

Besides Totsuka, ramen and discounted MAXX Coffee, there's one more existence that gives color into this dull world of mine.

"Onii-chan!"

And that will obviously be my little sister.

I think it's been years since my little sister decided to wake me up. That action of hers really disappoints me, though. Because it's every little sisters' duty to wake their sleeping Onii-chans on mornings, right?

…right?

I slowly opened my eyes to look at this heaven-sent being before me.

Black hair with a distinctive ahoge… signature fangs…

 _Yeah, definitely Komachi._

My eyes closed involuntarily.

"Just another five minutes, Komachi."

Hello, dreamland…

"LISTEN TO ME YOU DEADBEAT GOMI-CHAN!"

Farewell, dreamland…

"What now? You're being annoying."

 _Seriously, what's up with you shouting this early in the morning?_

"Oh, am I now? Well excuse me for waking you up because you're obviously going to be late already."

"What're you saying? My alarm clock isn't even ringing yet…"

Wait, it didn't… right?

"Onii-chan… broken pieces of alarm clock won't ring."

Her remark made me look at her direction, "What do you mean…"

Oh.

"What happened to that?" I asked while looking at my alarm clock, now shattered to smithereens.

"Why are you asking me, it's in your room, idiot."

Oi.

"Probably Kamakura messing around while I'm asleep."

Damned cat, that's the whatchamacallit time you broke something of my possession.

"Kaa-kun, huh? Anyway, get up now, it's seven fifty-five already."

I stood up pronto as I heard her, "Y-you're kidding."

"Look," but the wall clock she's pointing at brutally denied my wishes.

 _Oh merciful Buddha, I really am getting late._

"I'm heading off to school now," Komachi told me as I just noticed that she's now already wearing her school uniform. "Bye, Onii-chan!"

But she looked back as she's about to close the door, "Or should I say… good luck?"

I clicked my tongue at her as I started rummaging my cabinet for my uniform, "Just get lost already!"

Only her gleeful echoes of laughter can be heard as she closed the door.

…

I haven't been this scared my whole life.

It's just a door… a door… snap yourself out of it.

I'm in front of class 2-F's door, with my hands shaking as I contemplate about opening it or not.

Just face it, you're late and there goes the consequences.

Yeah, you have to be a responsible student…

…

N-no, I can't! There's no way I could do that!

Maybe I should just live the rest of my life as a NEET?

Yeah, t-that sounds good.

After all, being a deadbeat is better than being punched again by sensei, right?

I spun around as I steeled myself on my newest life plan. But as I'm about to run and face this tragic fate in front of me, the door opened.

"Good morning, Hikigaya."

 _Damn it._

"G-good morning, sensei."

"Have you any idea what time it is?"

"It's 8:45."

"And that means?"

"I missed first period."

"And that also means?"

"I'm late."

"Which means?"

"I'm doomed."

 _You know what?_

"Correct. Meet me after class."

Those who made the concept of punctuality, and the people supporting that idea, should just go blow themselves up…

 _And die._

…

Lunch break came as fast as sonic, but contrary to my classmates who are going out to buy lunch or to those who are flaunting their homemade bentos, I head outside the classroom with a different goal in mind.

I know that it's prerequisite in my case, but I'm amused that I somehow forgot it.

I climbed the stairs while taking deep nervous breaths. It's weird for I'm going back to the place that I had promised myself not to go to again. But I got no other choice, I don't know some other place where I could find her and I don't have the guts to visit her classroom.

So yeah, this is the only choice I have; to go back here, at the student council room.

I looked at the StuCo room's door while sweating bullets. I know that I'll never get in danger in this time of the day, with the other students walking along the corridor behind me. But I can't help but feel uneasy. Something really frightening happened here after all.

But no, I won't let my fears hinder my intentions, no matter how scary they were.

Screw knocking, I opened the door with my eyes closed tightly. The smell of lemon air-freshener wafted within, stimulating my nose. I slowly opened my eyes, fearing that I might again see a pool of blood on the floor.

But no, what greeted me is a perfectly organized room, with the joyful rays of sunlight coming in the window.

Thank god.

Looking around, I noticed how different this room was from the last time I saw it. Maybe they redecorated it? Yeah, that must be it. There're also a bunch of flowers on the aisle by the window, obviously for the respects of the girl who was supposed to be here.

If you're wondering, yes, there's no one inside but me. Which I am glad to, for I don't want to look stupid by barging in a room without knocking. But that also means that my main purpose to be here is no longer valid, so I might as well head out.

But as I'm about to turn around, a mischievous voice talked behind me.

"Looking for me~?"

A voice that annoyed the hell out of me, yet still familiar to the ears.

"What if I say I am?"

I looked at this flaxen-haired girl by the doorway, she's holding a stack of papers while blushing.

Wait, blushing?

Oh right, my bad. But it's the truth, though. I really am looking for her.

"W-wha? Are you hitting on me? Sorry but those kinds of lines won't work. Better luck next time."

Still as annoying as ever, I see.

"Say, Isshiki, wanna grab a drink? Come on, my treat."

I didn't wait for her answer as I pass through her by the doorway. But when I walked for about five steps away, I noticed that I'm the only one walking.

"Why are you still there?"

It's a free drink, Isshiki. Free drink! I know you're not one to refuse on free things.

"…weird."

"What?"

What's up with you being meek all of a sudden?

"You're being out of character."

I looked at her as if she got my family hostage, "I get that a lot."

You have no idea how much 'Fuck this shit, he's OOC' I'm getting in this fandom.

I know it's weird in my standards, but just play along for now, I have no other way to get you spend a little time here.

"I need to talk to you about something," I told her. "Now come along before I change my mind."

"W-wait!"

…

She followed after that, probably realizing that I have some other intentions along with my unusual actions.

I lead her to the place I always hang out at, the deserted corner beside the vending machine. If you're wondering, I have three reasons why: one is because I need the vending machine to buy drinks, two is because I don't want any disturbance, and lastly is that I really have no other place I know.

I took out my wallet as we reached our destination.

"What do you want?" I asked her while pointing at the vending machine.

Knowing Isshiki, she would definitely choose the most expensive drink in here. Probably a good thing that I got an extra allowance from dad today.

I wonder why, though?

I waited for an answer, but none came. Finding this outcome somewhat weird, I looked at her, only to find her spacing out to herself.

Now I'm sure you're not okay.

"Oi," I flicked her forehead, earning me a surprised squeak.

She looked at me while rubbing her forehead, "W-what?"

"I'm asking," I emphasized my point by pointing at the vending machine again. "What do you want to drink?"

Seemingly getting out of her trance, she answered, "I-I guess I'll also have the same as you."

What? Is it Isshiki being humble here? Oh well, good thing I won't have to waste so much money today.

"MAX Coffee then," I inserted two hundred yen. But as the drinks I bought fell down with a clank, Isshiki hurriedly called me.

"W-wait, I don't-"

"What?"

"I mean, I don't know you're going to buy that thing…"

'That thing', huh? Well alas, I'll let you off the hook this time.

"Oops," I feigned clumsiness. "Already bought it."

She sighed as she took the can in my hand begrudgingly, "Fine."

As there were no benches to sit at here, we sat ourselves on the staircase. Being the girl she is, she took out her handkerchief and sat above it.

After I sat myself down after I dusted the spot I'll be sitting on, I suddenly heard Ishhiki grumbling to herself.

"Ugh, how do you even stand drinking this thing?"

Just enough with calling MAX 'this thing' already, you're ruining it's highly reputation in the coffee hierarchy.

"Life's too bitter, so coffee at least should be sweet," I told her my usual motto worth making a superb endorsement ad.

"What's that? It sounded stupid, even for you senpai."

What do you mean 'even for you senpai'? Am I being a little degraded here?

But eh, that doesn't matter now. I'll just be straightforward with my intentions here.

"Neh Isshiki, how are you?"

My sudden question might have caught her off-guard as she choked while drinking her coffee, "W-wha?"

"You're shocked about…"

Damn, what's her name again?

"…about secretary-chan's death, aren't you?"

Screw it, I forgot.

I looked to see her reaction. And bull's eye, here she is, fidgeting so much.

I knew it, Isshiki. Of all the people in this school who will be most shocked about that issue, one of them will be you.

"N-no, I mean I… I don't…"

You don't have to deny it. My 'OOCness' that you've been pointing out lately is nothing from what you're having right now.

I looked at her with serious eyes and said, "You don't have to pretend anymore, go on, I'll hear you out."

Yeah, this is the main reason why I wanted to meet her, to talk about this damned thing. I know it's hard for her to remember all those, but no matter which way you look at it, I'm sure she has some heavy emotions burdening her right now.

And as her dependable senpai, it'll be my duty to find that out.

 _I have to take responsibility, after all._

As if getting encouraged by my words, she sighed and started rambling, "I-I'm shocked, yes, like really… I even cried. It was… it was just- I mean, I didn't really see it coming."

"No one did."

She continued as her eyes began to start glossy, "It's just so… horrible."

"What's worse is that…" she added as she wiped the drops of tears falling from her eyes. "Is that I somehow feel bad."

 _I know_ , though I won't say it.

"Why?"

"You know?" she started. "When she was… still the secretary."

"I feel like I'm not appreciating her efforts enough-"

Her words got cut off by a smack on her head.

…

From me, of course.

"W-what was that for!?" she asked me with a furious look while rubbing her head.

"Idiot," I said not looking at her.

 _Get mad at me or what, I have to say what I have to say._

"You're drowning yourself on a blame you doesn't need to shoulder."

"That's so idiotic," I added.

She started mumbling to herself, "I'm not…"

"You are," I insisted. "You might even be blaming yourself for this shit."

I got no response. But I still continued.

"Taking blames just because you feel like taking it is common for everyone. But even though it's always happening doesn't mean it's right.

Martyrs are nothing but kind-hearted idiots. You blame yourselves, just because you did something wrong that might've contributed to the fate of the one who suffered.

But does that even matter? No, a little pebble is nothing on a mountain."

"My point is, you might have been a little unappreciative on her. But that's just what you are, aren't you? And besides, let's face it, no matter how much you blame yourself for her fate…"

"…you're not the one who killed her, right?"

She wasn't responding, instead she's looking down. I can't see her face because her hair was blocking it, though I can feel it.

She's listening.

But even so, it kinda felt like I have been a little too hard on her.

"But that's not always the case, right? You even gave her a nickname."

Wait.

"…aren't you doing that to almost anyone?"

"Ugh, what I mean is, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself, her dea-, I mean… tragedy, wasn't your fault."

I resisted using the word 'death', for it might depress her even more.

"But if it can make you feel better," I added. "Maybe you could start building a better rapport with the other council members."

Yeah, like doing your job as a president properly without burdening them with your responsibilities.

"And call them by their proper names too," I suggested.

Still no response, though this silence wasn't that bad. Maybe I should just give her some time to let my words sink in. Isshiki might not be brilliant, but she can at least get what I'm trying to do.

Moments passed and we just sat there, drinking our coffee. But suddenly, I heard the girl beside me mumble something.

"…thanks."

Glad to be at your service, prez.

But it's too embarrassing to just say 'sure, you're welcome' for it might give her the idea that I really took the effort to do this.

Well, let's play dumb for now.

"Don't sweat it, that's just a hundred yen," I said as I threw my empty can of MAX Coffee on a trashbin.

As I look at Isshiki, I saw that she seemed like she had something to say. But she just breathed a disappointed sigh, "…whatever."

…

Have you ever been in that moment when you suddenly found someone you know as soon as you turn around? It's surprising, yes. But what's even more surprising is the fact that I forgot that actually knew her.

"Hikigaya-kun?"

In front of me is Nishino Yuuki, or 'four eyes' as what I liked to call her back then. She's wearing the Sobu high uniform as the Sobu high student she is. My long forgotten child hood friend that I met before…

…before that fiasco the other day.

"Oh," she exclaimed as she walked in my direction. "Fancy meeting you here."

Well yeah, we study in the same school after all.

I nodded at her as I look at the girl behind me-

Wait… behind me?

"What are you doing?" I asked the girl hiding on my back.

"Hiding," she whispered in a very quiet voice only me could hear.

"I know that," I responded her with my own whisper. "What I mean is 'why' are you hiding?"

"It's obvious, silly," she said like it's as obvious as a google-searhed answer. "She is talking to you."

"And no one, other than the Service Club girls and me, will bother talking to you," she added. "I'm sure she isn't human. Maybe a robot."

What's with that way of thinking? And no, I have mum and Komachi!

Suddenly, as if wanting her existence known, Nishino called our attention, "I u-uhm, am I interrupting something?"

No, you're not. Actually, interrupt us even more, this fox's comedy skit is really going the wrong way.

I answered her, "No, it's just that this idiot here decides to be more of an idiot all of a sudden."

That earned me a pinch on my side, a very hard one that I have to squeak an embarrassing 'ouch'.

"I-if I'm interrupting something… I can just, y-you know-"

But she got no time finishing her words as Isshiki emerged from my back, face crimson red.

"I-i-i-i-nterrupting?! N-no, what are you saying? Of course you're not," Isshiki explained hurriedly with a stiff smile on her face.

"I mean, I think you two are-"

Poor Nishino, she got cut off again as Isshiki butted herself once more.

"Senpai!" she called me, drowning Nishino's timid voice. "I-I-I got something to do! G-g-gotta go!"

With that, she ran away from the scene, not leaving any traces behind.

…

I can only look at the empty corridor as Isshiki's figure disappeared as she turned around the corner.

"What the heck was that all about?"

Nishino, also looking the same way as I am, answered my question, "I've no idea."

Yeah, and I also have no idea why you're here.

"So," I started. "What brought you here?"

With that, Nishino took her wallet out of her pocket and said, "I left my juice at home, so I'm here to buy a drink."

That figures, "I see."

I looked at her as she insert her coins inside, buying strawberry milkshake.

I don't know why, but I'm waiting for her.

Suddenly, she asked me, "Say, is she your girlfriend?"

"W-wha? You mean Isshiki? Oh no, don't even ask," I choked.

Of all the girls who would be my girlfriend, you'll say Isshiki? No thanks, I'll pass.

"What is she to you then?" she asked with her back facing me.

"A kouhai who loves taking advantage of me."

She looked a bit baffled by my answer, "What a weird relationship you got there."

You have no idea, "I completely agree with you."

As she took her drink out the vending machine, she started walking.

But then, she looked back as she saw me still standing on the similar spot.

"You're on 2-F, right?" she asked me.

 _Are you a stalker?_

"How did you know?"

"Kanbara-sensei told me."

 _No, of course you're not._

"Y-yeah, what of it?"

"I'm on 2-E," she started. "…mind walking with me?"

What?

"Uhm.. but."

Just what the heck are you asking me?

"But what?"

Oh please, open your eyes…

"Rumors might…"

I looked at her as I mumbled that. But what greeted my eyes is a disappointed look clad on Nishino's face.

"I've no idea that you're one who worries about such things…"

Oh damn.

"Oh no, you got it wrong," I told her. "It's not about me… but, you know? Your reputation…"

As if suddenly flicking a switch, a smile bloomed on her face, "That's so considerate of you, Hikigaya-kun. But I don't mind. And besides, I really don't have that much of a reputation to begin with."

But still…

"Shall we?"

Ugh, you asked for it.

"S-sure."

…

We walked side by side while walking to our classrooms. My eyes were kind if weary, though. I really don't want people seeing us together.

But if that really happens… then I'm sure that-

Oh no, don't even think about it.

"So, what made you join the literary club?" I asked her to clear my mind.

She looked at me, "You didn't know, I thought I told you my reason back then?"

"You did?"

"Back then, when we're still young, I told you that I'm so excited to meet other people with the same passion as I am."

I racked my brain trying to remember. But unfortunately, I got nothing.

"Really? Seems like I forgot," I apologized with a small bow.

"That's fine," she told me. "Even I forgot that I wanted that myself. Must be a great thing that I transferred here, I found such great people who can understand what I want."

 _Oh wait, that made me wonder._

"You're saying you transferred, but I really have no idea where you're from."

"Oh," she said while suppressing a giggle. "It's weird for us not knowing a lot about each other even though we've been friends long ago."

"And by the way," she added. "I'm from Setagaya."

"From Tokyo?" I asked. "Why transfer? I though Tokyo's got quite the respectable schools."

"Yeah, they do. But the place's so… what's the term?"

"Taxing?"

"Yeah, that one."

You transferred schools just because you're being irritated by the place? Wow, some rich-kid we got here.

"And you're parents are fine with that?"

I almost regret asking that as I saw how Nishino's smile faded instantly.

"Mommy's always travelling abroad, while Daddy's too busy at work."

"It doesn't really make any difference," she noted sadly.

"I-I'm really sorry to hear that."

But instead of staying silent or spiting the hell out of me, she smiled as if I did nothing wrong, "No, it's fine. It wasn't your fault too. And besides, didn't I say that I love learning to be independent.

It may sound sad, but we don't always have to be with our parents, right?"

Everything that she'd said was true, not a single thing is flawed. But still, even hearing those words sent a lump in my throat.

I know we have to leave each other by some time, but just thinking that I have to be left alone by them hits me the wrong way.

 _I've been alone for so long, so at least let me be with my parents._

But forcing my opinions on her will just create discord, and I don't want that. Instead, I took a deep breath and agreed, "Guess you're right."

But still, there's something noble that's worth praising about what she'd said, "That's so nice of you, desperately wanting to be independent, I mean."

She looked at me, probably letting the words sink in for a while, "T-thank you."

After that, we reached a certain door labeled 2-E.

"Oh" I started. "This is your classroom, right?"

"Ah yes," she responded with a smile then bowed to me. "Thank you for accompanying me."

W-w-what are you doing!? Why are you bowing? Someone might get the wrong idea!

I hurriedly responded to stop her, "R-right, you're welcome."

"Hun."

I turned around to leave.

 _That's one heck of a trek to the vending machine._

But as I'm about to depart to my classroom, Nishino called me, "W-wait, Hikigaya-kun!"

I turned around, not sure about what she's going at, "What is it?"

"U-uhm, do you still like reading books?"

 _What's with that random question?_

"Suppose so. Why do you ask?"

"A-ano," she stuttered. "I might have some books that'll interest you. Maybe I could lend you some."

"That'll be nice," I thanked her as I prepared myself to leave.

"So, is Saturday fine?"

 _Who's this Saturday?_

"What?"

"Ah, I-I mean, m-maybe we could meet up on the upcoming Saturday so I can give you the books."

 _Can't you just give them to me tomorrow?_ Don't you know that you're doing the taboo?

You're taking my weekend away from me!

"Well, I guess I have fee time this Saturday."

 _What!? Take that back!_

"So it's okay then?"

"Guess so…"

 _W-what are you saying!? There's no way it's okay!_

"That's great! I'll mail you the details then."

I looked down, face portraying the very definition of disappointment.

 _I'm sorry my 'future-self', you're 'past-self' screwed up again._

But wait, there's something I'm forgetting.

"Uhm… Nishino?" I called her as she's gleefully entering the room.

She craned her neck to look, "Hmmm?"

"I don't have your…"

Am I really doing this?

"My? …oops" she took out something from her pocket. "Just dial your number."

 _Am I really taking a girl's number?_

I look at the phone I'm holding.

 _Yeah, I really am._

Resisting my urge to smile, I quickly called my cell number from her phone. I waited for the vibration in my pocket to come before I hand her phone back.

"Here."

"Alright," she took her phone back, carefully holding it as if it's an expensive treasure. "I-I'll just send you the details."

I nodded to her as I turned around, "Ja."

My walk to my classroom seemed longer than usual. But as I opened the door and sat at my chair, a smile grazed my lips. Taking my phone out on my pocket, I looked at the missed-call I got. I did some left and right click and there we go, I pressed the 'okay' button.

 _New contact added: Four eyes._

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **Note:** Will be taking a little break to refresh my mind. I have some of my future ideas and chapters outlined, but I'm having trouble putting them on paper. This won't take long, probably about a month or so. While I'm on it, I will work on improving my grammar and some other stuff (maybe find a beta too).

I also have some books I would like to read, so this little break will give me the luxury to do so.

My friend lent me a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger. I'm not sure if it's good or not, but the premise of the story seems interesting.

That's all for now people, see you guys again on the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer** : I own nothing.

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

 **And so, the Cries of Sorrows from Behind the Open Doors will Never be Left Unnoticed**

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a room cramped with three entirely different people. The best way to put it is to say that the three of them were in completely opposite sides of the pole. So opposite that they could no longer see how far their personalities reached each other. At first glance, the place might just look like a normal clubroom—a place where students scram off to whenever they finished their classes. Hang around and do stuff like normal high school students. But if, for some reason, you got to spend an ample amount of time to experience what was really happening inside, you would realize that said room was nothing but a sanatorium.

An asylum for weirdos.

 _With me as an exception, of course._

…

The afternoon glow of the sun filled the service clubroom with its orange light, adding to its usual scenery. In normal scenarios, this room would also be filled with the bubbly ranting of our resident blabbermouth. All of that would be responded with sarcastic remarks from me and a certain girl who was brewing tea at the moment.

But this time is nothing other than unusual.

The room is filled with silence.

…And occasional sighs.

Not that I minded so much—but it's Yuigahama we're talking about. And yes, she's the one that's been filling this room with those exasperating noises this whole time. She looked unusual today too; leaning over the table that she almost looked like she was kissing it, her phone was away from her touch and—

" _Haah…"_

…and those god damn sighs.

God, that was annoying!

I'm afraid that I'm just a second close to snapping at this point, even though I'm trying my best to ignore her by continuing to read my book. But every time I get to a good part, my ears would be filled with—

" _Haah…"_

I snapped my book shut and gave her a dirty look, one that she wasn't able to see as her head hung low at the moment. Though Yukinoshita saw me and, as if understanding the suffering I was experiencing, heaved a deep sigh and nodded.

"Is something the matter, Yuigahama-san?" she closed her book and asked.

Yuigahama lazily raised her head, "Nothing much…"

With that, Yukinoshita opened her book and started reading once again, "Alright then."

The same went for me. But as I'm about to flip the pages again, Yuigahama raised her head with a snap, "Eeeh?! That's it? That's all you're going to say?"

 _What is this girl talking about?_

"What do you mean?" Yukinoshita asked her, speaking calmly albeit showing a mildly irritated look on her face.

"Aren't you even going to ask again?" Yuigahama skidded off to her side as she raised her arms in a dramatic manner. "Show some concern, Yukinon!"

"But I already asked you what was the matter," Yukinoshita said. "And you just said 'nothing much' so I dropped the subject."

"It doesn't work like that…" Yuigahama seemed to be in the middle of thinking something. "I don't know how to explain it… but it doesn't work like that!"

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Well um… for example," she started. "If you asked your friend 'what's the matter' and they don't seem to wanna talk about it, you have to insist! You have to keep asking 'til she, like, answers in the end!"

"That's just being stubborn."

 _Spot on, Yukinon._

"O-h well um—"

Realizing that this conversation would just loop in an endless cycle, I decided to butt myself in, "Just tell us Yuigahama, we'll listen."

I closed my book and placed it down on the table. I looked at Yuigahama who was now looking at me worriedly and nodded.

"It's hard for some people to voice out their concerns," I shot a look at Yukinoshita, who averted her eyes in return. "And you can't blame them for that. My point is, if you're expecting that kind of treatment from people like Yukinoshita… or myself, well, you're practically expecting nothing."

I looked at her straight in the eye, showing my sincerity . "All you have to do is talk," I added. "We have no choice but to listen anyway."

"You make it sound like talking to me is a bad thing…"

"Whatever. Just tell us already," then I realized something. "Or maybe you really don't want to talk about it? Ah, my bad then."

I bowed my head towards her.

"Ah wait! I'll tell you now…"

The silence of the room urged her to continue.

"Well, you see… it's about Iroha-chan."

"What about Isshiki-san?" Yukinoshita asked, taking a sip from her tea cup.

"Uhm… it's just bothering me… I mean, I'm kinda worried about her."

"And for what reason?"

"Well firstly," she started, scratching her cheeks. "She seems to not be visiting the club today…"

"What's the problem with that?" I asked. "Isn't that a great thing? The only thing she does whenever she comes here is give us work."

"…and Hikki hates work."

"Precisely! You know me too well, Yuigahama."

"Everyone is aware of that, you deadbeat," Yukinoshita shot me a disgusted look. "Anyway, Yuigahama-san, it may be weird for me to say this but he has a point. We should let Isshiki-san handle her workload alone as much as possible. That process will benefit her in the long run."

Looking at Yukinoshita with respect in her eyes, Yuigahama began stuttering her words, "Y-Yeah… I guess you're right," but she looked up as if remembering something. "But that's not my point! Oh, I almost forgot."

"What is it then?" I asked impatiently.

Yuigahama straightened her back in her chair and cleared her throat, "Uhm, you see… Iroha-chan seemed depressed when I met her this morning…." Her words stirred up another atmosphere inside the room. The looks on their faces made it apparent that they were also affected by 'that' issue. Yuigahama worrying about Isshiki was expected but to see Yukinoshita looking extremely uncomfortable was another thing. "You know, I just thought that visiting us here would cheer her up."

"Don't fuss about her so much," I started, wanting to ease up this heavy feeling embedding us. "I'm sure she's fine now."

"What makes you so sure?"

I choked as soon as I heard Yukinoshita's curious question.

 _Man, I might have sounded too sure._

"W-Well—"

But as I'm about to create an alibi to save myself, Yuigahama butted herself in, "Oh! That reminds me, you took off to the StuCo room during lunch break, right?"

 _How did you know that!?_

Yukinoshita looked at me accusingly, "And what, pray tell us, was your reason for visiting the Student Council's room?"

"Two things," I shot a doubtful look at Yuigahama, "firstly, your eyes sure dart around—it's creepy." She doubled back into her chair, ready to retort something—but I stopped her before she could even open her mouth, "No no, don't even try to explain." Then I looked at Yukinoshita, craning my neck in a dramatic manner to create an effect, "And why should I explain where I spend my lunch breaks to you, Yukinoshita?"

"It's an act of good-will, Hikigaya-kun, if you're not aware. I was just worried that you planned to do something to Isshiki-san back there. Which is justifiable to assume, based on those eyes of yours."

"Don't even start with my eyes—"

"Why shouldn't I?" she asked as innocently as a kid who broke a vase, saying _'it wasn't me!'_."It's not my fault that just looking at them makes me feel anxious," she smiled, savoring the victory she was looking for, "I can't even imagine what your actions might have done to her… _sigh_ , pitiful Isshiki-san."

 _Oh how nice of you, Yukinon, for stepping on a landmine._

"Such a filthy imagination you got there," I paused to emphasize my point, "Yuki-pervert-san."

Not even wavering at my comeback, she responded, "It's not considered 'imagination' if it's true."

"Um… guys?"

"Stay out of this, Yuigahama-san," Yukinoshita coldly shot her down.

Usually, Yuigahama would instantly shut up when she heard Yukinoshita's cold tone but now was different; she actually retorted back.

"Err, as much as I enjoy watching you two…" she pointed at the doorway, which I failed to notice was open until now, "maybe you should lay off for a sec and explain yourselves to her?"

"Hello~"

By the doorway was Isshiki, smiling at us.

"Coming in."

Isshiki barged into the room, not even bothering to ask for our permission. She directed herself onto the chair, that was empty just moments ago, like nothing had happened.

Yukinoshita stood up from her seat looking startled, "I-Isshiki-san?" She walked towards the direction of the tea-making machine in haste, "I-I'll go reheat the tea."

Isshiki expressed her gratitude by flashing a bright smile at her, "Thank you~" then said smile changed its direction, which was now directed at me. "…So, what was _that_ all about?"

Yukinoshita came back, carrying a tea tray in her hands, "M-My apologies, Isshiki-san… it was rude of us to talk behind your back. I just got carried away by my assumptions."

"Assumptions? You mean you were actually serious?"

After serving Isshiki her tea in a paper cup, she looked at me, "I'm always serious, Hikigaya-kun."

"Now now," Isshiki chided in. "No need to get worked up about it," she smiled sheepishly, "I already heard most of what you two were talking about anyway."

I facepalmed, "So you've been eavesdropping this whole time…"

"It doesn't really count as eavesdropping," she retorted. "I was already standing there even before you two started bickering. It's not my fault that you two seemed so busy acting like newlyweds to not even notice me, you know?"

"I know right! They've always been like that!" Yuigahama said. "They seem to forget anyone around them when they're like that… I almost feel jealous."

 _What?_

"Well anyway," Isshiki started. "If this will put the issue at rest…" she directed her gaze to Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. "…Senpai didn't really do anything to me back there, much to his cowardly nature and lack of guts," she added with a smile.

"I'm not surprised at all."

"Ha ha… well it's Hikki we're talking about…"

The two other girls voiced their approvals, which was not a rare occurrence since I'm always outnumbered in this room. The idea that women always rely on each other when in trouble is a certainty that could never be erased from these realms.

An opinion by someone like me, who has no significance whatsoever, doesn't really matter to these creatures. And even if I do voice out my opinions, they would just be fruited with sarcastic remarks and scornful glances.

I sighed in defeat and began lamenting this unfair world I was born into. Incidentally, my sight caught Isshiki's eyes which were looking at me with a mischievous glint.

"W-What?"

She smiled. A distinct smile that wouldn't mean anything good.

"That reminds me," she drew the attention of the other two girls in the room. "Senpai kinda made some _moves_ on me during lunch break."

 _What the heck are you talking about!?_

My subconscious shouted at the top of its lungs, causing my internal throat to be shattered into shambles. I prepared my actual vocal chords to execute my disagreements, when suddenly—

"M-M-M-MOVES!?"

I remembered that I was in the same room as this human personification of a loudspeaker.

I don't know if it was just me but did the room really shake the moment Yuigahama shouted? She was standing up from her seat, looking at me like a predator.

Of course, I chose the option every wise man in my position would do:

I said nothing.

"Oh yes," Isshiki decided to add, not realizing the looming storm she was brewing. "He took me to the place he always hangs out at, bought me a drink and…"

"And…?" Yuigahama persisted.

"…And told me a bunch of sweet words."

Yuigahama stared at her blankly, then directed her line of sight to me, then back towards Isshiki again. She continued looking back and forth between us, her face gradually turning paler with every second.

"N-no… you don't mean…."

Yukinoshita was no different; she was looking at me as if I was a pest that should be exterminated.

"…Despicable."

I couldn't let this farce continue, of course.

I still had a reputation to uphold.

… _Well, kinda._

"No! You got it all wrong… well not entirely—b-but you're wrong!" bursting the not-so-convincing words from my mouth, I stood up from my seat. "Isshiki! Help me out!"

"No Isshiki-san, drink your tea."

"Don't even try to defend this bastard, Iroha-chan!"

In a frightening synchronized manner, the two girls of the club also stood up from their seats, walked towards Isshiki and covered her with their bodies, as if they were protecting her from me.

Isshiki only peeked from behind their backs and grinned at me, "I'm not trying to~"

I charged forward, thinking of ways to slam my teacup into this bitch's face, "You son of a—" when all of a sudden, Yukinoshita appeared in front of me.

"Did you really take her to that hideous hideout of yours?"

"Hideout? What in the—"

"Answer."

"Yes, but—"

"Did you treat her to a drink?"

"It was just so that I could—"

"Did you?"

"W-Well, yeah…"

"And those sweet words?"

"T-Those were not sweet at all! I just talked to her about—"

"About what?"

I deadpanned, "You know what? The least you can do to not make this a harsh criminal interrogation is let me finish my words."

What was the deal with this woman? She was acting like my mother when she heard about me being friends with someone. Which is actually a lie after looking at it closely; talking with my mom was a rare occurrence back then and I wasn't really befriending anyone. So yeah, it never counts.

Anyway, Yukinoshita looked like she had more to say. but then realized that she was acting too worked up and decided to gloss over it with a 'hmph'.

 _What's with that tsundere gesture?_

I continued. "You see, this brat here," I pointed at Isshiki, who was watching with apparent amusement, "seemed depressed—and yes, I noticed that too. I may not look like it but I'm not that naïve, you know? So yeah… I talked to her about some stuff… sort of."

"Which is kinda sweet, if you look closely," Isshiki added while nodding at the other two.

Yukinoshita seemed perplexed by this sudden turn of events and asked Isshiki, with her head tilted slightly, "Was that all?"

"Pretty much," Isshiki responded.

"So, we've been being played with this whole time…" Yukinoshita grumbled as she walked back towards her seat.

"You could've just told us that earlier, y'know?" Yuigahama, who had not been talking until now, suddenly giggled sheepishly and turned the atmosphere to be a little less awkward. "Can't believe I actually fell for that…"

Isshiki looked confused, "But isn't it fun to tease senpai?"

 _You call that teasing? Woman, you need some professional help._

"You got some weird sense of humor, I tell you," I told Isshiki as I began to uncover the book I left above the table. "Well, glad this skit is over now. So, if you would allow me to, I'd like to go back to back to reading."

Without waiting for a reply, I started skimming over to the pages I last left. And as I recognized the familiar sentences I left off, Yuigahama spoke, "That was kinda, um… nice of you, Hikki."

Yukinoshita added, "Indeed, and extremely unusual."

I didn't say anything, instead I pretended not to hear anything and averted my face, being careful not to show my embarrassment.

…

Time seemed to fly by inside the clubroom.

And the protagonist's harem, in the light novel I was reading, seemed to expand even faster than a colonizing country.

 _Just what the hell is this all about? Like really? A new love interest in every arc?_

I sighed in exasperation as I closed the book after god knows how many times, swearing not to open it ever again.

Well, yeah, the book was nice and all but the author should at least refrain from creating too big of a harem. I mean, how can you handle stuff like that? And those… those love scenes…

 _Haah, this looks like something Zaimokuza would pull._

As I'm busy cleansing my mind of that awful threesome—I mean horrible story, Yukinoshita spoke, "Anyway, what brought you here, Isshiki-san?"

"What if I say, I came here just to see senpai?"

"Cut the crap," I growled as I slammed my shitty book on the table.

"Ehehe," Isshiki giggled sheepishly. "W-Well… I actually need the club's help."

"Color me surprised," I snorted.

"So what do you need help with?" Yuigahama, who had been just fiddling with her hair, asked enthusiastically. "Just say the word!"

"Ah don't worry," Isshiki waved her hands. "It's nothing strenuous, really."

"Everything is strenuous if it's work, Isshiki."

"Senpai," Isshiki's bubbly face suddenly turned a 180. "Will you please shut up?"

"… …"

 _Kowai, Irohasu, kowai._

"So, where was I? Oh right—you see, the school paper still has some pages to fill. I already asked the other clubs to help me but there were still empty pages left. I think they are all good now though… but y'know? I want to make the school paper lively!"

Yukinoshita looked thoughtful. "And you want us to help you fill those pages, I assume?"

"Yes," Isshiki agreed. "Though I want something more… you know? Modern and stuff?"

"Like cafés and shops!" Yuigahama quipped.

"Yeah yeah! Totally!"

"Hmm… that certainly is a good idea," Yukinoshita looked amused by Yuigahama's idea, seemingly not expecting a good one to come from her. "So, we are going to feature some cafés then? Is that what you want, Isshiki-san?"

"That's more than what I wanted," she happily responded. "And of course, I will be coming too!"

"Hah!" Yuigahama yelped, obviously excited by the idea. "We're all going out then! Is this weekend fine? I'm free on Saturday!"

"Anytime is fine with me, how about you Yukinoshita-senpai?"

"I don't have much to do anyway, yes, I suppose Saturday's fine with me too."

"Yay! All four of us… in an outing. I'm so excited—wait, Hikki?"

 _Oh damn it._

Craning my neck to look behind me, I saw Yuigahama gazing at me with a look asking _'Where are you going?'_

Oh right I'm standing by the door with my hand on the knob.

"F-Forgot… I got something to do," I managed to say between stutters.

 _Please, just one more step and I'll be out of this…_

"O-Okay," she said. "Wait you're going too, right? Hikki?"

 _Why do you people always make things hard for me?_

But before I could even say 'I can't' then run my way towards the school gates, Yukinoshita's sarcastic remarks reached my ears. "Of course he's going, there's no point in asking him, Yuigahama-san."

"What's with that tone?" I snapped at her. "Who are you to decide whether I'm going or not?"

"It's not like you ever have anything better to do, right, Hikigaya-kun?"

Yukinoshita's not entirely wrong with that statement. Though, this time will be an exception. I bowed my head towards them, "I can't go, sorry."

"Why? Don't you want to come with us?"

Well, Yuigahama's not entirely wrong with that assumption either. I cherished the company of my club members but if I'm going to choose between my weekends and them...

You guessed it right.

I will always put my weekends above all else.

"Yeah! You're going to have a date with three girls, senpai!" Isshiki yelled. "Three cute girls! Everyone would kill just to be in your place!"

She's not entirely wrong with that point. But cute? Yeah, maybe. But with me? Eh, just go find another person who would swap my place, no killing needed.

"Well," I started. "As much as I'd like to go with the three of you," _NOT_. "…Sorry, I really can't go. I already had plans set for Saturday."

"Plans? What plans?" Yuigahama asked.

After a couple of seconds analyzing the best way to say whatever I was going to say, for some inexplicable reason, my cerebrum disconnected with my body and words involuntarily came out of my mouth.

"I have a date."

Words that I knew for sure I'd regret.

So you know what I did?

Simple.

I closed the door before me and ran towards the school gates to save my life. I'm not dumb, to say the least, but I'll admit that what I've done was so stupid. I'm sure now they are thinking of ways to report me to the police. Maybe I should've just explained everything to them?

Ugh, what a bother.

 _At least those dumbstruck looks on their faces were worth it._

As I sprinted, I remembered that it's not allowed to run in the hallways, so I slowed down my pace and walked. My footsteps echoed, the breeze of the winds accompanied the rhythmic sounds when I heard something.

Sobbing.

Someone was… crying.

The sounds were coming from inside a room, its door slightly opened. At first I hesitated and thought of just ignoring it altogether.

Well, who could blame me?

Weird sounds coming from empty rooms already imprinted a gory image in my mind.

But I closed in anyway, curious of what I was about to see. And it's not like crying people will harm you, right? I'll just go and take a peek.

Crouching my way towards the door, I squinted my eyes to take a look.

"… …"

Then I wish I hadn't.

Leaning against the wall, with her arms hugging her knees, a girl was crying while looking at the floor.

She looked so sorrowful that it made me want to console her.

But I didn't.

Instead, I walked away slowly, pretending that I hadn't seen anything.

 _I promised not to have anything to do with her ever again._

* * *

Oh how painful of a job it is, to be a father.

Even so, it was one of the simple things in life that makes it worth living. Like the rushing of pride and delight when you open the front door, after a long day of work, and your daughter rushes towards you, all smiles and with her arms in the air.

The first steps, the first words, the first fights.

The first tears he wouldn't be able to wipe.

And then the first revelations that you were never the kind of father she expected you to be.

"… …"

A man thumbed through a stack of files in his hand. He looked worn out. His eyes, which were supposed to be dreamy-looking like his daughter's, now had big sacks of black mass surrounding them. His hair was a mess and his face was unshaven. He no longer looked like the man he was just a couple of days ago.

He slung his coat on the couch and slumped himself onto it with an exhausted sigh.

To say that he's tired is an understatement. All he wanted was a little time to be alone and rest. He just got into an interview or, rather, a court trial as he saw it. No matter how much they polished their words to sound polite, he always knew.

He knew that they were wary of him. Of every move he took. He knew that they could never talk to him without having those awful briefcases within their reach.

He knew, in their eyes, he was nothing but a monster.

Those moments almost felt like an eternity for him; being forced to sit inside a room together with a bunch of people, ready to kill him.

He snorted, had he really made a single move at that time—it surely would have been his end.

He would have been nothing but a toy, cramped inside a briefcase.

He didn't though. He remained being a good boy.

Or so that's what those fools were thinking. Little did they know that every word he uttered, every accusation he denied—they were all nothing.

Nothing but lies.

How he did not know the ghoul that was subjugated recently.

How he and his daughter were not connected to the death of a certain high school student.

They were all lies.

Every single one of them.

God, how he hated every part of it.

How he hated himself.

And now, he was certain that his daughter hated him too.

He couldn't blame her though. She had every right to resent him. She had every right to slap him, at face value, for how much of an incompetent father he had become. To be unable to protect those dear to her. Worse, to deny and be unable to provide justice for their deaths.

He's nothing, nothing but a piece of breathing trash.

A glorified fucking worm.

They had a fight, over the phone for crying out loud. He had been mad at her and he knows he shouldn't have been. Everything, every single thing that's conspired, wasn't her fault. He shouldn't have blamed her.

But still, he got mad. He didn't know why, but he got mad at her.

No, he knew why.

He's mad. Not at her. But at himself.

He had been mad at himself, so much that even his daughter was affected by his anger.

He made her cry.

He made her sorrowful.

The only pillar she had, the only support she could rely on, made her cry.

God, how he hated himself.

God, how he resented every bit of his existence.

Regret was a familiar feeling. A sting that persisted and turned into a desperate ache. You don't get to take back the mistakes you've made.

And Shiromeguri Urie was drowning in his mistakes.

He was drowning, yet he kept surfacing back.

For his daughter needed him.

He took a deep breath and took out his phone, screen alit as a new message had been received.

[Inform us immediately if he got in any contact with you.]

It was just a simple message. A sentence commanding someone at their will. It was nothing serious if someone else looked at it.

But to him, it meant everything. His life is one thing, but his daughter's is of another matter.

This one command, this one order, will be his daughter's ticket to having a peaceful life.

At least, more peaceful than what he had.

So, for another time around, he had no other choice but to make another mistake.

He will never put his daughter's life at stake again.

He will make sure to let her live a little longer, to enjoy life.

He will make sure that she will never become like him.

Even if it meant sacrificing a poor soul, just to achieve what he wanted.

So he pressed the send button, containing the words he hated the most.

'Understood.'

The words of a dog, following orders.

* * *

 _ **TBC**_

* * *

 **Note** : Oh my god, he's back... the bastard is back. After about a month of that so-called break... he came back and gave you all a chapter not even exceeding 5k. Please don't kill me...

Anyway, if you folks noticed how the grammar drastically improved in this chap, you can all direct your thanks to **Black Psych** for offering to proofread my work. Let's all give him a round of applause.

A lot happened while I'm out so I'll just give anything that I remembered.

My bestfriend got married. The bastard. Reread My Trans-Dimensional, Overpowered Protagonist, Harem Comedy is Wrong!by Sage of Eyes. Never gets sick of it. Still Waiting for 2020. Finished reading The Time Travelers Wife. Changed my view in life. Made me hate anyone by the name of Gomez.

That's it about now, please leave reviews as usual, I crave for those.

Peace out.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own Nishino, but not Oregairu.

 **Proofread by:** Black Psych

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVEN**

 **And so, The Red Eye Makes its First Appearance**

* * *

 **~※~**

" _Yaawn_ , so what's up with the late night call?"

I tried my best to stifle the incoming yawn. But seeing pitch black darkness through the window, the clock pointing its hands at an ungodly hour, and feeling the fluffiness as it enveloped my back while I laid on my bed, the act was probably futile.

"Ehehe, sorry if I called kinda late. Mom forced me to do the dishes tonight."

"I really don't give a damn whether you did your dishes or not."

"You don't have to be so mean…"

No, I had to. In fact, I was actually entitled the right to be mean. Humans were granted with the right to sleep once they were born into this world, and that included me. Hindering me of a nice sleep could be considered a human rights violation. _What you're doing is basically a crime and you don't even have a clue_ _!_

"Can you just cut to the chase already? In case you've forgotten, we still have classes tomorrow."

"I know that… it's just, I feel like I really need to talk to you right now. It'd be sorta embarrassing to try and talk about this with you, you know? Face to face..."

Her statement made my mind wander back to that brain fart I had before leaving the club this early afternoon. The words 'I have a date' kept ringing in my ears like a broken kazoo. I had been fully aware that that stupid joke would cost me a chunk of my backside, but I never thought that it would bite my ass so soon.

"You… you called to ask about what I said, before I left the club, right?"

Now that I thought about it, perhaps I really had it coming. Yuigahama had my phone number, she never hesitated bothering people before, and she'd do everything she could to prod. She was the expert when it came to breaching people's walls.

The other side responded with rumbling static and so, I took her silence as a yes. Propped up with a pillow, I sat myself up while yawning. If only I knew that she'd choose a time like this to call, then I would've at least prepared by stuffing caffeine into my system. But since I decided to cut off my dose of MAX today, I needed to suck it up. Let's just pray that I won't doze off while talking to her. There's no knowing what she would do if I slept on her. The very thought made me shudder. An ignored airhead's wrath was something to be genuinely scared of.

"To be honest," I started. "That was partly a joke, though."

An audible gasp was heard as I confessed the truth.

"You… you and your jokes again, huh—wait, partly?"

"Yes, partly. The part where I said that I have something planned for Saturday was true."

"Whoa, you actually have plans?"

"You sounding so surprised kinda hurts a little…"

What was she thinking anyway? Though I looked like I loved being left alone to do nothing, even I still worked once in a while. _Yeah… me being a part of the Service Club_ _is_ _proof of that._

Sounding hesitant, Yuigahama cleared her throat and inquired, "Mind me asking what plans you have for Saturday then?"

"I have to meet someone."

"Hmm, is it Chuuni?"

By Chuuni, she probably meant Zaimokuza. _Heh, as if I'd sacrifice my weekend for that fag._

"Tch. I would rather dig my own grave during my free time than be near that bastard."

"Eh, it's not him? Who is it then?"

"Nobody you know."

"C'mon, just tell me. You won't know, right? Maybe I'm acquainted to him."

 _Him? What gave her the idea that I'm talking about a boy?_

"Er, it's a _her_ … actually."

 _Heh. I somehow kn_ _o_ _w where this is going._

Let me welcome you to Hachiman's crash course on how to protect your eardrums.

Step one: Distance your ears from your phone.

Step two: Prepare yourself.

Step three: Try not to cringe while you listened to a mama dinosaur give birth over the speaker.

"EEEEHHH!?"

Bringing my phone back to my ears, I explained, "Remember that girl who came to our club on Monday? The one Kanbara-sensei asked to fetch me? We're somewhat acquainted from the past and she offered to lend me some of her books. We're going to meet on Saturday so she could give them to me."

Explaining even before she asked was a _well-played tactic_ by me. That way, she couldn't make me fall into any misleading questions and have her misunderstand things. I already had enough of misunderstandings. Whether I was the victim or not didn't matter; the outcome was still the same. People felt pain—emotionally, and sometimes physically, that is.

As soon as I was done explaining, I relaxed myself and leaned my back on the headrest. As I stretched my sore back, I heard a grumble coming from my phone.

"You could have at least told us that during club earlier…"

 _Oh, she got me beat there._

"Yeah, maybe I really should've. My bad."

"But still… a girl huh? I can't believe you actually had female friends other than me and Yukinon."

I wanted to retort, and say how wrong her understanding was. I didn't really have any friends—much less female friends. The club girls might count in a weird way, but Nishino? Yeah, we were childhood friends but we're teenagers now, so she didn't count.

"What's her name anyway?"

"Nishino Yuuki, class 2-E. I think she's the president of the Literature Club."

"I've never heard of her…"

I was confused. It was weird that Yuigahama hadn't at least heard of her. Nishino was a good looking girl to say the least and it wasn't like she was the same as Yukinoshita who rebuffed people. _Maybe she's like Kawasaki, perchance? But she's more of a delinquent, so it doesn't fit._

"Hey Hikki," Yuigahama got me out of my train of thought. "Why didn't you tell us about her? You could have at least introduced us to one another, you know?"

"Well, it's not like I knew she was studying at the same school all along. I just met her again this past Monday."

"Hmm, you got a point though," she said. "Well anyway, Yukinon seemed pissed when you left the club earlier. Make sure to make up with her."

 _Of course she was. That_ _was_ _my intention after all._

"Is that the reason you called? Did she tell you to ask me or something?"

"Ah, no. In fact, Yukinon didn't really say anything. It was just… obvious actually."

I gulped. _D_ _id I piss Yukinoshita off so hard that her wrath came up_ _to_ _a whole new level?_

 _I didn't trigger a new persona of Hitler inside her, right?_

"Alright, I'll be sure to apologize. You too Yuigahama, sorry if I offended you somehow."

"Ah, it's no biggie. Though it's kinda disappointing to go without you…"

 _Here she goes again,_ I thought begrudgingly. If I was still the same guy as back then, I would have been jumping on my bed, screaming 'she likes me!' at this point. But I was no longer stupid. This was just Yuigahama being herself. There was no other meaning to it.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," I glanced at the clock and widened my eyes at the sight. "Hey, Yuigahama, it's getting pretty late."

"Eh, already? Oh, you're right. I totally didn't notice at all!"

"Hmm. Let's call it a night."

Yuigahama sounded hesitant, but still agreed, "…Yeah."

Courtesy dictated that she'd be the one to end the call since she started it. I waited, positioning myself in my bed again, but nothing happened.

I looked at my phone.

Yuigahama was still on the line.

"…Yuigahama?"

"Hikki…"

Her voice sounded so mellow, I actually got worried.

"Oi, what's wrong?"

"Oh nothing… I just got worried all of a sudden is all."

"About what?"

"About you."

Breath hitched. Heart stopped. Body stiffened.

 _Calm down… Hachiman… Calm down._

"You can stop acting like my mother now, thank you very much."

"But I can't help it… ever since that accident, Yukinon and I have been so worried, you know?"

"Why bring this up now?"

They never talked about it – much less brought it up during club. For once, I thought they just didn't want to talk about it for my sake, not wanting me to relive my trauma and all. But then I realized, _maybe they really d_ _id_ _n't think about it as a big deal?_ So I stopped thinking about it as well, partly because I was not one to delve through the past and partly because I wanted to forget it altogether.

But since Yuigahama was here talking about it, maybe I was wrong to think that they really didn't care.

"I just remembered that time when you were all bandaged up… it was awful."

 _Yeah, I guess I really was wrong…_

"Yeah, I know," I sympathized. "But you don't have to worry. It's not like a car will suddenly ram into my room and kill me."

"Don't say things like that!" she shouted. "It's a bad omen!"

"It's a joke, a joke," I snickered. "If you're really worried, why don't you hire a personal bodyguard for me?"

"I don't have the money," _whoa, she's actually considering it?_ "Yukinon might be able to, though."

"Yeah, as if."

I could actually picture her hiring a whole platoon of soldiers, not for me, but for Nishino of course.

"Ehehe, you're right," she giggled. "Good night, Hikki."

"Good night."

And with that, she ended the phone call and I pressed my sleepy head onto the pillow. After rechecking if my alarm had been set in my phone (I had been using my phone as an alarm clock ever since the one I had, broke), I placed it beside my pillow.

But weirdly enough, as I was finally about to sleep, I found myself staring at the ceiling, thinking of the words Yuigahama mumbled before she hung up.

"…Enjoy your date, huh?"

 **~※~**

After a strenuous Friday, three essays, eight MAX Coffees, and giving Yukinoshita an apology, it was finally Saturday.

On this particular type of a day, you would usually find me sleeping my ass out until noon. But who wouldn't do the same? Saturday was made for sleeping until noon. It was justified after enduring five whole days straight of torture at school, right? But, since this day was also set with the cursed word we called 'plans,' my current desire to go back to the land of dreams would never be satisfied.

I stood up from my bed and started walking towards the door. It was Saturday and all, so I'd be meeting Nishino later this morning. I received a message from her last night, stating exactly when and where we would meet.

I meant that, literally.

[9:00 AM, meet me at the park.]

I snorted as I chucked my phone back into my pocket.

 _Damn, she sound_ _s_ _like Hiratsuka-sensei._

Komachi was out to her friend's house, (which I already confirmed not to be that bug's) so it was only yours truly alone in this house. After a whole twenty minutes of lazing around and having a quick breakfast, I raced to my room in an attempt to prepare myself. I had never been attractive to begin with and these eyes of mine only accentuated that fact. It was a given that I couldn't be allowed to go around, looking like my usual self when I was with Nishino. She was a fairly formal lady, so I needed to look formal as well to avoid being sued as a stalker. First off, I needed to cover my face – it always attracted trouble. Be it from delinquents or department store clerks, this face of mine never gave me any merits.

A mask could be good but I had none, so I needed to deal with it.

In a rush, I stripped myself of my clothing and wrapped a bath towel around my lower half. A whole twenty minutes of bathing later and I was done. I started rummaging my cabinet for something decent to wear. Again, I was fully aware that I couldn't go wishy-washy on this. I discovered a gray shirt, freshly ironed in my rack of clothes.

Bless mum.

Jumping into the pair of pants I scarcely wore, I contemplated about wearing the white coat dad gave me weeks ago. Well actually, it looked more like a trench coat. He had become a bit too chubby this year that he had to replace his whole wardrobe with a ton of santa-sized outfits.

Anyway, I wore it just for the hell of it and looked at myself in the mirror, full length and angular. Behold—a rotten-eyed, white suited FBI agent who just got out of rehab…

I took it off and stashed it away together with the other things I'd never lay my hands on again. After spraying an ample amount of the cologne I only used for special occasions, I snatched my ever reliable jacket beside my rack of uniforms and then it was time to go down the road.

 **~※~**

On the way to the meeting place from my house, I noticed all the old and new roads had been mixed together. If I remembered correctly, there was a guide map near the station. But to someone like me, who had lived his whole life here so far, the map would seem completely different from reality. It was, somehow, enough to sway my mood a little since I felt really attached to this place.

Not that anything could be done about it.

The townscape would change just as people would change.

After passing a boutique, a Burger King, a town hall and a neighborhood (where I stopped for a while to watch two elderly women argue about which of their dogs had shit near the other's front doors), me and my ever so reliable dullahan finally reached the park.

Usually, it was filled with people during the weekends.

On Saturdays, the suburbs got pretty crowded. I saw riajuus playing half-assed badminton in a corner, a group of housewives pushing strollers on the other side, and I gave way to a group of joggers passing by with their leashed pets. _There really_ _are_ _a lot of people_ , I thought while staring at the crowd.

I was born and raised here, so this did not strike me as strange. In fact, it was the normal order of things—like how the sun rose in the east and sank in the west.

But for someone like me, who only thought of crowds as nothing but a nuisance, it was infuriating. I used to not be bothered about it so much since I didn't really go out of my way to spend free time wandering outside my domain. But during some rare occasions, when I was forced to go out, this normal order of things did nothing but irritate me.

I hated crowds.

I really did.

No, in fact, I hated most people in general.

"…I just want to go home."

I felt exhausted, hot and agitated. Just the _perfect_ state to be in when you're about to meet someone—not to mention, a girl. The crowd was taking its toll on me, so I decided to sit on the bench by the shade of a tree, dragging my bike along the way. I felt bad for taking a four-person bench for myself, but since there was no one who would dare sit with a creep like me, it wasn't that bad, I guessed. I chose to sit somewhere facing the entrance, so I could see Nishino when she arrived. I also came a couple of minutes earlier, so I had plenty of time to kill.

A yellow bus came into view as I kept my eyes on the gate. A group of children (probably elementary students) jumped out of the bus, carrying little stools in their hands. Based on their stature alone, I deduced that they must have been in the fourth grade, each somewhere around eight or nine years old.

Forming a line, they all followed a woman, who I assumed was their teacher, as she walked towards the fountain—which also happened to be right in front of me. The children sat on their stools while the teacher seemed to be talking about how the fountain was supposed to be a historical sight. This totally shocked me, to be honest. _I_ _'ve_ _never heard of that. And it's not like I run around asking people about fountains._

I listened in anyway. _A_ _ny other trivia about Chiba will always be welcomed._

Somehow, the students also interested me. Their formation looked common. _Or should I say discriminat_ _ive_ _?_ Nah, that didn't matter, discrimination was pretty much common these days anyhow. Anyway, the children's seating was divided into separate clusters even though I hadn't heard the teacher tell them to group up. Some of the girls formed their own group in the front, the boisterous bastards in the back while the law-abiding sorts, the ones trying to contain the loudmouths behind them, sat in the middle.

But what interested me all the more was the lone boy. His seat was not so far at the front, but far enough to notice the difference. Just one glance made me realize that I had been looking at a fellow loner. It was weird though—he seemed to be more engaged than the rest. He had been raising his hands in the air, trying to catch the teacher's attention for a few minutes now. It was in vain though, since the bitch always ignored him. I could sympathize actually, since I totally knew how it felt. All those times when I really knew the answer and tried to raise my hand, my teacher elementary teacher would always pick the one behind me.

 _Somehow, I felt like Misaki Mei back then._

Anyway, back to the boy. I couldn't see his face, as his back was facing me, but I could feel his aura screaming _'pick me, pick me, damnit!'_ at his teacher's face. Finally, and unexpectedly, the teacher called him.

I listened in and what he said actually baffled me.

"Sensei, where do the ducks go when the fountain gets frozen in winter?"

 _What the duck is this kid talking about?_

That question prompted me to stand up and peek at the fountain to see it for myself.

Lo and behold, there really were ducks drifting and squiggling across the fountain.

 _Are animals even allowed in the fountain?_

 _No, that aside_ _,_ _w_ _hy would that boy want to ask about them?_

 _Oh well, I guess I'm no wiser either. I'm curious as well._

"That is very curious of you, Hashida," the teacher smiled at him like how one would do when talking to a problem child. "But I'm afraid I've no idea where they go."

"But," the boy persisted, standing up from his stool. "Does animal control take them and put them in the zoo or something? Or do they just let them freeze there?"

That question made me picture the thought and I realized it was so... sad.

 _Imagine being out_ _during_ _winter and getting your ass stuck in ice._

 _That's just pitiful._

"Maybe they fly?"

"But ducks can't fly!" _T_ _hey can't? Oh god, this kid is more knowledgeable than me_ _!_

"Okay children, onto the next station – to the large trees! Who wants to see birds?"

But the teacher, completely ignoring him, changed the topic instantly and beckoned the other children to follow her. The scene was almost comical as they looked like ducklings following their mother. It was hilarious.

But even after all of the children had already gone out of sight, I found myself still staring at the fountain.

The boy was still there.

Neither moving nor trying to follow his other classmates, he kept sitting on his stool while watching the ducks. I figured that perhaps he was still really interested and wanted to see more of them for himself. I couldn't blame him, since kids tended to be a lot more curious about things, but it'd be trouble if he really got left out by his "flock". And trust me, nothing good came to mind when hearing about children being left behind during field trips.

 _Personal experience, my friend._

I stood up from the bench in an attempt to persuade the boy to follow alongside his class. I was a bit cautious though. _What if I scare him?_ But... I supposed it was fine either way. If he got scared, then chances were he'd run straight back to his group—same result in the end. At least these rotten eyes of mine came in handy sometimes.

But as I was on my way over to him, I saw a girl wearing the same uniform running towards his direction. I stopped, thinking that this girl might have been sent by the teacher to fetch him back.

 _Oh well, at least they didn't le_ _ave_ _him altogether._

I turned around, going back to the bench where my bike was at when…

"Oh, here you are! I was looking for you!"

A voice that could only have come from the little girl resounded behind me and I looked back.

"I'm watching them," said the boy, not even sparing a single glance at her.

"Huh?" the girl looked confused, then laughed when she saw what the boy was pointing at. "The ducks? You're still going on about that? C'mon, sensei didn't know I left! We better hurry before she notices!"

"Then leave me."

"I can't do that!"

With a puzzled look, the boy stopped staring at the animals and directed his eyes to the girl. I found myself confused as well, trying to see what the intentions were behind this young girls' actions.

 _Why… why would she go out of her way just to look for him?_

 _Somehow…_

 _Somehow, I knew the answer._

"Because I don't want to leave you, silly."

After saying that, without even waiting for a reply, the girl took the newly crimson-faced boy by the wrist and dragged him off. I watched them until they were both out of sight and then walked back to the bench once again. As I sat myself down, I began to wonder.

 _Why d_ _id_ _that scene fe_ _el_ _so nostalgic?_

Then it hit me.

It was the same scenario as back when Yuigahama came looking for me after I was left at the gallery, during that workplace trip a few months ago. It was just like a mini version of that scene, only with different end results.

 _I stood my place and didn't waver, the boy_ _o_ _n the other hand, surrendered._

It wasn't his fault though, I must say. He was still young and it wasn't like he could have developed similar skills as a jaded loner this early in life. But still, witnessing that reminded me of how scary nice girls could be. One day, that boy will most likely misunderstand a nice girl's intentions and fall into the same trap as I had. The fact that she went out of her way to look for him might have been just out of pure pity and consideration. I'll never know—but that boy will. Nice girls could be overly unpredictable sometimes. They just pop out of nowhere and feed you with this kindness you were better off not receiving in the first place.

I really hated nice girls.

And somehow, as I busily drowned myself with this issue, an uneasy feeling made me dread meeting the girl I was supposed to see today.

 **~※~**

Nishino came five minutes later than the scheduled time, but I didn't say anything. Partly because I knew that rebuking latecomers (especially women) wasn't a wise thing to do and partly because I was really not in the mood for idle talk. So I just jumped on my bike and nodded, gesturing her to follow suit.

"Shall we?"

"Hmm," with a hum, she rode her own bike. As a side note though, I didn't expect Nishino to bring her own—much less even own one. But, since this meant that I wouldn't have to get into the hassle of walking alongside her in this weather, I suppose it was all good.

Our destination was at this cafe that she'd been talking about ever since she arrived. I didn't oppose as the idea of savoring cool air in an air-conditioned establishment seemed appealing.

The trek had been comparatively silent, only filled with the creaking of our pedals and Nishino's gentle humming. Very few cars had passed by and it almost seemed like we were the only people in the world as we walked along the bicycle lane. I kept looking at her back as she strode forward, looking as carefree as one could be. To say the least, she was magnificent—but not pretty enough to be called perfect. Just a tad bit cute enough to be labeled lovely.

Anyway, I'll be honest with you for a sec, I was really not in my best mood. Well, technically, I had never been in the best of moods—but today was different. Especially at the moment. I had been getting a weird feeling that I didn't belong here. Each glance at her made me twitch, and I felt utterly uneasy.

 _She look_ _s_ _so far away._

 _Out of grasp._

As I kept on pedaling, my chest tightened and I felt that I couldn't take it anymore. I halted and stared at her back as her short hair flew along the breeze. Not realizing that she was heading off alone, Nishino continued to stride forward without a care in the world. Time almost seemed to stop as I watched her figure get smaller and smaller. It was just about ten seconds since I stopped, but it almost seemed like an eternity.

I deliberated about calling out to her but, due to my hesitation, as if noticing that she no longer had any company, Nishino ended up looking back instead. She looked back and stepped her foot on the ground as a substitute for brakes.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Her face contorted into one of apparent worry, and I had to avert my eyes to not be affected. With my head looking down, I grumbled loud enough for her to hear.

"Say, why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

She scooted closer, dragging her bike along in the process. I looked down again before asking my next question. I couldn't bear saying this to her at face value.

"Why… why are you acting all phony, like we're close friends and all?"

"Eh? H-Hikigaya-kun, aren't we friends?"

' _Aren't we friends?' Well that's a_ _question_ _that takes me back._

"Well technically, we're childhood friends. And that's the keyword right there, isn't it? Childhood. We're no longer kids and it's not like I'm still the boy you've met before. We haven't seen each other since that summer and I'm certain a lot had changed already since then. I changed… and I'm sure the same goes for you. We're basically strangers at this point. We know each other's names and some trivial information, but that's all. So why… why are you doing this?"

I guessed my voice sounded shrill, but I couldn't help it.

"I-I don't understand… Hikigaya-kun, w-where is this coming from?"

Her wavering voice made me look up at her. Obvious confusion was painted on her face, but she kept that smile on her face—as if hoping that I was just joking.

 _She's not even aware_. But it was natural, I supposed. Nice girls tended to be nice without thinking. It was like a primordial instinct to them, and it was just a matter of how the receiver will perceive the action. Boys my age would often misunderstand said actions as a flag trigger, but my case was different. Now, I knew better. I walked this path before, albeit a little wobbly. However, I became careless and fell and that was partly because of Yuigahama. Half of my defenses had been breached by her and she became an irregular and irremovable existence in my life at the same time.

Today, I will not make the same mistake again.

I will not fall into that same back alley like that boy from earlier did.

If this went well, I'll pay those ducks a visit as thanks.

"You really," I changed my tone into a much firmer one, stared at her straight in the eyes and reposed my expression to one that was devoid of any emotion. Those days when I was forced to keep pretending for my own sake will bear fruit today. The last time I did this with Yuigahama, I sounded way too nice, so she misunderstood my actions as being considerate. I thanked her for her friendliness—I even flashed a smile. That was my mistake right there. Nice girls will not ever leave similar people as them behind. The common theory that opposites attract was just utter bullshit. This time, I'll prove that opposites repel. "You really should just stop keeping up with me."

My voice changed to a mocking tone and, despite myself, I flashed a sarcastic smile.

"Stop wasting your time."

Nishino looked completely aghast and moved forward to tug at my sleeves, "N-No, I'm actually looking forward to this!"

She appeared desperate.

"But what is there to look forward to?"

And now I was confused.

"I haven't really put that much thought into it…" she looked down, as if saying something to be ashamed of. "I guess… I really just crave to have a change of pace. Meeting a childhood friend and hanging out again like old times. Plus I really want to make you feel the way you did before. This time… I wanted to be the one to reach out."

"Hmm, I see," my voice shook and I made no effort to hide it.

 _Finally, I realize_ _why_ _._

The reason why I had this mood swing all of a sudden.

Why the spiel of those two kids clicked something inside me.

Because, I was in the same situation.

 _Really now, why didn't I realize_ _that sooner_ _?_

"Self satisfaction, huh?" I mumbled. "Hmm, it's pretty understandable now that I think about it. There's no way that a 'Little Miss Perfect' like you would give a damn about an outcast like me. But that's the point, wasn't it? That's the reason why you reached out. Because I'm an outcast—the same as you were back when we were children. And since I fell into the same realms as the past you, you feel obligated to reach out in return. Maybe it's also even out of pity. Seriously, it's ridiculous. But you know what?"

I snorted as I witnessed her face form a guilt-stricken expression.

"I never asked for your consideration."

I walked forward as I continued.

"I never asked for your worthless pity."

The kind of people who thought that they should always return favors were just stupid. Not everyone gave a damn whether you paid something back or not—especially when they weren't expecting it. The moment you reached out and suddenly played nice, you just ended up producing misunderstandings.

And misunderstandings led to pain.

And I hated that.

I hated hoping that certain people were being genuinely kind to me, only to find out that they were just being considerate in the end. I hated it. It wasn't like I was a dying man with a terminal illness or something.

"If you're doing this just to pay me back for reaching out," I said quietly but loud enough for her to hear, "If you're doing this just because you feel good being the one to give out sympathy instead of being at the receiving end... Just go, I'm better off without your consideration."

A thought popped into my mind—a very unpleasant one.

I tried to stop myself from doing so, but it was too late.

"You know what, I'll just come right through with it."

My hand involuntarily slipped into my pocket, took out my phone and showed its screen to her.

 _I want to stop._

 _I don't want to go this far._

But I was already doing it and there was no taking back what was already done.

"Just leave me alone."

I deleted her contact information in my phone.

Right to her face.

I looked at her, waiting for a response. I would be lying if I said I didn't expect her to hit me—but nothing came my way. Not even a word came out. She was still smiling that very same smile she wore every day. But... tears were leaking out of her eyes. Those misty orbs of hers gave her this very tragic expression and I couldn't help but look away.

 _This… this genuinely breaks my heart._

"I-I…" I heard stuttering come out of her, and I flinched. "I… I was hoping you'd understand."

And with that, she just fled.

Just like that, I was left alone.

Along with books that I won't ever be able to return.

 **~※~**

My initial plan was to just run down to my house and sleep till Monday. That was not a bad plan, I must say. As more than I need right now is a little time to be alone – and alone, in terms of being alone entirely. I'd shut the door and not even let Komachi in.

Well that _was_ the plan.

Everything backfired, and like a mist, my entire course of actions evaporated in thin air.

All thanks to this bastard who suddenly came out of nowhere.

"So, do you need something?"

My tone was polite but I'm sure my face already contorted into one of apparent irritation. Just imagine this: after getting out on a scene you would most likely not want to remember for the rest of your whole life, all the while enduring the inexplicable heat that was not really supposed to be here as it's currently January – and the least thing you want is to just huddle up in your blankets while turning the AC at full blast—

Then this guy will suddenly appear before you, block your path and stare daggers.

 _You can't blame me if I get irritated, can you?_

Nothing but the two of us was present at this street, and for a brief moment, I wondered, _is_ _this an isolated area or something?_ Anyway, asit was only the two of us here, I assumed that he might have some business to deal with me. _But what's with that look?_ If he needed something, the least he can do is to look nice, you know.

Upon voicing my question, I was greeted by an unpleasant silence. Meaning, he kept his mouth shut and not even bothered to speak at all. Releasing an exhausted sigh that is loud enough for him to take the hint, I grumbled, "Hey say something. Are you mute or what?"

Even my provocative remarks didn't budge him and he just kept staring. Somehow, his presence ticked something inside me and my usually non-existent sixth sense rang its alarms. I might not be in the rightful place to say this – but that guy looked like a total creep. And just by looking at those tangled mess of shoulder length hair in his head gave me the thought that I was not the only one who would think this way.

"Oh well then…"

Warily, I moved my way forward. If he was not going to say anything, then there would be no reason for me to waste my time here, right?

 _Seriously, what the deal him?_ Was it a new trendto just suddenly block people from the streets and glare at them? What kind of comedy show would do a prank like that? That's so lame. If possible, I'd really love to meet its director and gave him a 'thumbs up'

– Or rather, a 'middle finger up' – assuming that it really was a comedy show, that is.

I got pass him with no trouble happening. It was not like he was large enough to block the whole sidewalk with just his body. If you're curious on why I had a hard time getting past, it's because his being there already strike me as unpleasantly compelling. It's like the feeling you get when you met a creepy stranger while being alone is a street.

 _Wait, wasn't that my situation just now?_

Releasing the breath that I had no idea I was holding the entire time, I walked forward, ignoring the fact that a guy had just glared at me mere moments ago. But after I moved on for about three steps, I heard a mumble behind me.

"…how dare you?"

Instinctively assuming that the voice came from the aforementioned guy, I looked behind instantly. I took a defensive pose as I sensed an incoming trouble coming in. I heard it – and felt it.

His voice reeked of hostility.

Swallowing my saliva and clearing my throat, I asked, "Pardon?"

He was looking at me, the ever-creepy glare still painted in his eyes. I didn't mention it before, as the fact thoroughly seemed unreasonable. But now that I got a good look on his face – I can say for sure.

He seemed angry – and by angry, I mean really angry.

 _But why? Why could a passerby suddenly get mad at me?_ I could say for sure that I haven'tmet him before, because if I really do, I would've remembered him (With that creepy look and all). But I didn't, so the idea of having offended this guy in the past and him coming back to take revenge will be out of account.

"You… you made her cry."

"Huh?"

I heard the words correctly, don't get me wrong. It was just that, I couldn't quite comprehend what's the meaning behind those words. Was he one of those crazy people who run down the streets yelling anyone they bumped to with, _"You killed my father!"?_

' _You made her cry'. What's with that? I never made anyone cry—_

A sudden realization.

"You don't mean…?"

Flashbacks appeared in my head.

 _Under the blazing heat of the sun – while carrying our bikes on tow – and after saying those cruel words – a girl I just can't help but remember was crying._

"You made Nishino-san cry…"

 _Oh boy,_ is the only think I could think of as Irealized what I had gotten myself into. This time, I'm certain that I gloriously and superbly fucked up. Who could have expected someone to see what I'd done to Nishino a while ago? I'm sure no one was there!

But I guess I was wrong – and for all the people who would see it, it just happened to be a one that knows her. And judging by how he got really angry as a result, I could say for sure that they're pretty close.

I tried to gloss everything up with a half-assed explanation, "Y-you know, that was quite reasonable though. I'd really like to tell you the story behind it to make you understand. But I'm afraid that would be a painfully boring story so I'd just apologize if—"

"SHUT UP!"

I was cut off by his loud voice, and like a terrified cat, I slowly backed away. No point upholding my pride here. If this guy poses trouble, then the least thing I could do was to run away. It's that easy. But surprisingly, I found myself unable to move.

 _Damn it, I'm chickening out._

He scooted closer, putting a hand in his pocket as if taking something out.

"You arrogant piece of trash…"

And with a flick,

"I will fucking kill you."

He took out a knife.

Looking at the glinting weapon in his hand, I realized.

Not everyone hides a knife inside their jacket pockets – and no one would just suddenly attack a random person in a deserted street, of course unless if the said person was a lunatic. But most of all: no sane friend would follow someone out on their day outs with a camera dangling on their necks.

That's it. He didn't just saw everything by coincidence. He didn't witness the whole scene just because he just happened to be there. It was because he was there the whole time.

He was following Nishino.

 _Oh, so that's how it is,_ I released a defeatedsigh. _Indeed he is trouble._

He was neither a friend, nor a mere acquaintance of Nishino.

It was just a matter of connecting the dots. "A stalker, eh?"

Feeling proud of myself on how I voiced that out coolly, I began to think of the best course of action. Two possible plans can be executed at this point: one is to run away and seek help as I saw nearby people; and two is to be recklessly courageous and defend myself (Like what everyone is actually hoping me to do). And as I don't want to ruin this fic by turning tail and bringing shame upon the hardworking author's penname, I found myself standing still, choosing the latter plan.

But, as expected, I failed to move. I was too distracted by my fear that I didn't respond in time.

I was too slow – and the last thing I saw, is that his knife was running straight to my defenseless stomach.

Time seemed to stop.

First, I got hit by a car – then a two week coma – and after that, I witnessed a murder and almost became a victim as well.

And now, this.

 _Seriously, I really can't get even more unfortunate, can I?_

 _If by any chance that I actually survived this, what will be next, abduction by aliens?_

The pain came a little later than I expected, and as if being impatient from it, and after hearing a weird clanging sound, I opened my eyes.

What greeted me was the guy before, kneeling before me while holding what appears to be a knife's handle in his hands. Below was a glistening piece of metal, reflecting the rays of the sun. And as I look further, I recognized it to be the blade of the knife earlier.

And despite of myself, I began laughing.

"Kukuku, w-what the hell was that? Oh my goodness, y-you actually broke the knife-hahaha!"

I bursted out laughing just by imagining the thought. To be honest, he really looked cool just a moment ago. And this happened. The only thing he can do at least was to purchase a nice knife. I bet my whole allowance he just snatched it from his kitchen and took it with him.

But I was in no place to laugh at that faulty knife. I know – it just saved my life. So I crouched down, ignoring the guy kneeling before me as he muttered inaudible words, and picked the blade up.

That's when I stopped.

The blade. I was already expecting it to be faulty – even see rusty parts on it.

But it wasn't. Instead, the entire blade looked nicely polished.

The only thing that stood out most was the tip.

It's dulled.

As if it just hit something inexplicably hard that it lost its sharpness.

Somehow, I found my hand reaching for my jacket – right in front of my stomach.

And there it is – a small hole.

A hole that was not there just a moment ago.

And while staring at the blade, I began to understand what the shaking guy in front of me was muttering.

"…monster."

And indeed, reflecting through the mirror-like surface of the blade, I saw my face.

Only with one thing different.

I found the eye of a monster staring back at me.

* * *

 **TBC**

* * *

 **Notes: :** Re's out, whoo! Words can't explain how thankful I was when I heard that the pilot episode had been released. I was like, 'Holy cow, this will make explaining the story flow of this shit much easier!' I already read the manga, though I stopped after chapter 125 (hehe), though I'll continue later if I manage to get the time.

Now, let me welcome you to the end of the 'revelation arc'. I can't actually believe that it took eight chapters for me to get here, but it was a nice journey for me, and I enjoyed it. This time, I could now safely say that Hikki became a half ghoul. (Though I doubt none of you realized that yet.) And while we're on that matter, let me straighten this fact out:

This fanfiction is an AU with regards to the Tokyo Ghoul side. I think I already made it clear that I will 'shamelessly change some facts' about TG. But to make things clear, I'll say it again:

The Tokyo Ghoul in here is AU. I supposed you already realized that the ghouls are not known to the public in this story, and so is the CCG. I intentionally made it that way to align the TG world to the Oregairu world.

And that's it about the fic, now onto the main subject.

 **We breached the three digit wall in the followers section! *Clap-clap***

Thank you so much for the support, and I promise to work harder on the other incoming chapters.

Reviews will be deeply appreciated, so please leave some.

~Cheekygaya out.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:**

 **Unexpectedly, The Who Ran Away Came Running Back**

* * *

Bearing these distasteful pair of eyes for so long, I had grown used to seeing this peculiarity in myself staring back whenever I look at my reflection.

However, me being settled to the fact doesn't mean that other people would as well. Because of these eyes, my appearance came out a whole lot different when compared to others, causing the inevitable to happen.

I got bullied.

I was played upon, shunned away and called names.

But instead of being sick of it, I treated these pair with some sort of familiarity. I couldn't help but be fond of them. Back then, I used to think that individuality can be achieved by acquiring uniqueness — and these eyes gave me that; the right to have something only I could have, to have something that represents who I am.

Perhaps, that was the main reason why I was so disturbed right now. It's just about the same as realizing the fact that humans are not static creatures. They change, turning into something far from what we have grown used to. It was a pain, yes, but nothing could be done about it.

After all, just like what I always say.

To change is inevitable.

But let me ask you this.

 _Is it possible for something as natural as the human eye to change that easily?_

The light reflected from the broken blade in my hand glinted like lasers to my face, and I squinted my eyes in response. Naturally, the one in the reflection did the same.

 _Though,_ I found myself asking, _is it even the same?_

Pulsating red veins were popping from the black mass that should have been my left eye. Alright, my eyes might never have been something pleasant to look on, with it being the same as those of a fish floating bellyfront on water.

But as I said, I have grown used to it.

But as I said too, this not what I have grown used to.

This is 'different'.

Disgustingly different.

 _So what the hell am I supposed to feel about seeing this?_

Fear? Panic? Disgust?

Scratch multiple choice. I choose all of the above.

As if about to touch a foreign object, my other hand that hung lifelessly from before slowly approached it with caution. No, I was approaching it with caution — which was pointless, now that I think about it, since the fact that it's my "own" eye obviously states that it's attached to me, being it a part of my body.

My finger touched the veined side, the one which iris was quivering.

Then, I recoiled.

Like a heart, it was beating, almost looking alive.

Dizziness suddenly overcame me, and bile started coming up from my stomach, scalding my throat like acid coming up from my chest.

Revulsion turned to mild surprise, then panic.

Then, to full-blown disgust.

I couldn't even remember how I ended up in this place.

But once you started walking and panicking and having your head constantly being fed by thoughts that panics you even more, things get muddied, and the last thing in your priorities is to remember. And maybe you're not just walking anymore— maybe you're running, but since you already stopped caring, you won't realize a thing until you find yourself puking your insides out in a back alley you don't even know where.

Yes, on a random back alley, I started puking.

I was no stranger to panicking, but the vomiting was new. I usually don't vomit when I panic. My stomach cried whimpers of pain as the food I had stocked in my stomach started coming upstairs, forcing their way out on my mouth. It hurt a lot I could almost cry, which I was probably doing now anyway, as my eyes stung after they started getting blurry. I had to support myself with my arms acting as pillars to prevent my jelly-like body from collapsing, so I couldn't even wipe the nasty droplets forming in my eyes.

My hands dug on the grimy cobblestones as I heaved deep breaths. The place smelled thoroughly of piss, and of course, I knew it was dirty. But I couldn't find it in me to stand up. My knees felt so wobbly as if they have been boiled on a pressure cooker.

The puddle of nasty slime greeted my stinging eyes as my vision gradually cleared. Gross. The smell was like everything you couldn't have imagined. I dry heaved as I no longer had anything to puke. My olfactory senses were screaming complaints, almost fuming in the mouth. Of course it smelled like shit. Everything in this back alley stunk.

But I don't have a particularly sensitive nose, and besides, I already smelled worse things other than dried piss and fresh puke.

Like blood, for instance.

I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of my jacket, and it came back slimy.

 _Ugh. Well that was really gross._

More seriously though, I couldn't really bring myself to get up just yet, but the smell was now starting to get inside my head. Any more than this and I would surely carry this smell for the rest of my life. I need to get the hell out of here, clear my head or collect my thoughts, or whatever. I need to figure out just what in the world was going on before I start ripping all of the hair on my head.

Well, not really. I just want to get up.

So I got up, vertigo hitting me a second later like a baseball bat straight in my head, and I had to throw my hand on the wall beside me so I wouldn't fall.

My feet slid back on the floor with a sound similar to teeth gritting with each other. My forehead had my bangs sticking on it due to the sweat, so I unzipped my jacket and took it off, using it to wipe the sweat away as well as the grime accumulated in my hands.

I spat the remaining bile in my mouth as I took another glance of the masterpiece I had made of the food I'd eaten for breakfast. Right a foot away from it was a glinting object, and I looked at it.

The broken knife.

Then it hit me again.

I crouched down to pick the blade up. Calmly, if I might add. There is absolutely no point panicking myself any further, I already had my fill for a whole year, thank you very much. And besides, nothing good would surely come if I lost over myself again.

The blade is cold in my hands, and there was not enough light for it to reflect anything, so all I could see was its dull surface. I sighed, a little glad that I wouldn't be surprised to death by looking at it again, then turned around—

Then I froze.

Suddenly, as if by some godlike timing, a silhouette appeared before me, its back facing the light, only giving me a pitch black shadow to stare on.

Upon instinct, my unoccupied hand raised to cover my left eye. The shadow grew larger and larger and I had to back away until my shoulders and spine hit the wall behind me. The footsteps drew closer, then it stopped.

Right in front of me.

My breath spilled in my mouth, the thick and suffocating air snatching every word, leaving me all shocked and speechless.

Enough light shone and I was greeted by a face.

In front of me was the girl who ran away.

 **~※~**

Nishino Yuuki was a bookworm.

She loved reading so much it would be no doubt the books would be flustered should the things bore personalities. But who cares, right? After all, it's her own life, so she had to decide what to do with it. But still, she knew for a fact that her 'passion' made people uncomfortable at times. Before starting high school, many of her teachers seemed to be worn down by her extreme enthusiasm in reading. She found this all a little bit odd. Weren't adults supposed to be interested in children such as her? It was not every day that you got to meet a little girl who reads Dan Brown for leisure reading

In addition, it also came as a surprise to her as to how she thinks differently compared to the other girls her age back then. She acts too mature for her age, having nothing but books hugged in her chest all the time.

Indeed, it would not come out as a surprise that her classmates teased her for being a 'bookworm.'

She had also received a lot of inquiry on why reading was such a big deal to her. And as always, the only answer she was willing to give was, "I love reading."

But she knew for herself that that was not the only reason. Granted, she loved reading. But does that mean she should shut herself to the world because of that? No, that was because there was another reason.

It's because she was lonely.

As a child, she was trained on how to walk with her own two feet. Or more like forced, because no kid would want that. Her _Daddy_ was a dedicated worker, the one keeping their family business in check to the point that it seemed that his business was a lot more important than his daughter. Her mother, on the other hand, was a very adventurous person. She always went out of Japan, flew to Europe, then to Spain. And before you knew it, she was back, carrying boxes of souvenirs for her.

But she never wanted that.

She never asked for gifts.

All she wanted was their company. Yuuki knew that her parents loved her, but she couldn't help but feel that her parents loved themselves more.

Which was somehow, obviously true.

Like, what kind of mother leaves her daughter in the care of babysitters so that she could travel the world?

Like, what kind of father chooses to attend a company conference rather than his daughter's PTA meeting?

She was sad that her parents were too happy, while she was not.

But of course, she never complained. They gave her everything she needed.

Good school, financial stability, and most of all, books.

At young age, she became good friends with loneliness. No Daddy to play with, no Mommy to talk to, only books for her to read. Sad, yes, but she believed she'd get used to it.

Eventually.

But then, summer came, along with 'that boy.'

It had been a strange summer. She expected to be lonely althroughout after she heard the news about her cousins attending a summer art camp — which also meant that she would be left alone.

Every summer, it had been a tradition to spend the rest of her vacation in her Aunt's place. Her parents thought it was a good idea for it would only leave her all alone in the house for the whole summer if she stayed. Which was, indeed a good idea, since she loved the company of Kimi-nee and her brother.

But then again, there goes the dreadful art camp, and much to her dismay, her cousins would be gone for the entire vacation.

And so, she was alone again.

She could never get a break, could she?

On a particularly boring afternoon, she'd decided to read the new book her Dad had given to her as a gift. 'Alice in the Wonderland,' the title said.

Under the shade of a tree on her Aunt's backyard, she began to read. Alice, it seemed, was a very adventurous person. And overly curious as well. _Who eats a thing without even knowing what's in it?_ she asks herself, appalled, but of course, she got no answer. While reading it, she also felt some distance to the character. It's weird, she always feels some sort of connection while reading a book. But now, it didn't. Nothing was clicking.

Why so?

Alice had the Hatter, the Hare, the Dormouse, the Smiling Cat and many else, inside or outside the rabbit hole.

And Yuuki?

She had no one. That simple.

Letting out a sigh, she snapped the book shut and gazed up the sky.

 _I'm so lonely_ , she thought.

"Yo."

Until he came.

The boy who climbed the three-foot fence so he could talk to her.

Well, talk might not be appropriate. He was not much of a talker, he just liked to read books. But one time or another, he would share some insights about what he was reading.

In a much depressing manner, she might add.

She could only stare at him, being shocked for something as unnatural to suddenly appear. Days passed, then a week, but he was always there, his eyes that looked like a zombie and words like a man who just got divorced.

But she never complained.

In fact, she enjoyed it.

She'd never had anyone reach out to her before.

Well, not really. She had some friends, but they were too energetic for her. It's like she was being drained whenever she gets close.

Timidness, might not be the only reason.

She was just bad at dealing with people.

In addition, some also associated her 'timidness' to the way she looked.

She inherited her mother's light brown wavy hair and her father always wanted it to be cut down to shoulder length. The reason? She would never know. Her face would also look nothing different compared to her father. Sometimes, she kind of wished that she inherited her mother's features instead.

Her mother, for the lack of a better description was definitely beautiful. She emitted this aura of 'elegance' that was somehow, and unfortunately, always being misunderstood to 'arrogance'.

She would never mind having a face like that. To be honest, it would actually do well in her favor. But instead, she inherited her father's kind looking face, so kind that she almost looked fragile.

Back on the topic at hand.

She was always alone, only her books to keep her company. It was a rather odd feeling. Sort of embarrassing, even. But at the same time, it was nice not to be alone. It was a little disconcerting to find out the she already got a friend without her knowing.

He used to call her Four Eyes because she wore glasses back then. At first, she thought it was only his way of teasing her, but after hanging out with him for quite some time, she realized that maybe he only had a knack for giving people nicknames. The thought gave a warm feeling coursing through her chest. He gave her a nickname, something that not even her parents dared to do.

It was nice.

Then, like other things, summer ended. She went back to Tokyo to continue her studies, though she promised her 'friend' that she would be coming back next summer. He only nodded at her as if he didn't really care, but she knew better. After all, she was sure that this summer had been fun for the two of them.

Before she knew it, she was looking forward for the summer vacation more than she expected.

But then, the tragedy came.

She had never expected that she would be coming back to her Aunt's place so soon.

On a funeral, to boot.

Half a year after she came back to Tokyo, her family received the news about her Aunt's house having burned down in a fiery wreck. Everyone died, except for her Kimi-nee who was in Tokyo too for college.

The house was ruined.

What 'that boy' always said was actually true.

 _Reality is cruel._

Indeed it was, and it hurt her to realize it this way. Then the thought of never being able to meet 'that boy' again only added to her grief.

Later, she graduated middle school. High School came out slick and nice, she had friends, she had fun.

But somehow, it felt empty.

Along with her memories of her Aunt and cousins, she missed the boy with zombie eyes.

Not to mention that Tokyo was no longer doing her any good. Not every people in the world were good natured. Not everyone were supposed to be nice.

There were evil ones too. And scary ones, as well.

She had a stalker.

But there was no way that she would tell her parents about something as silly as that. Perhaps it wasn't silly, but she didn't want to ruin a person's life just because he became attracted to her. Knowing her parents, they would probably make a wreck out of that guy if they heard the whole story.

So she decided to take the step forward. She talked to her parents about transferring schools from Tokyo to Chiba, saying that Tokyo was no longer being a good place for her. She said she hated the crowd, (which was true) and she said she wanted to study in a more peaceful place, (which was true as well).

Her parents, being the oh-so-understanding-parents they were, complied with her requests. They gave her an apartment to live on, enrolled her to Sobu High to continue her second year, and never forgot to fill in her 'excessive and obviously unneeded' monthly allowance.

Her Dad was a little against it at first, saying that he couldn't possibly let off his 'little girl' alone. But when she offhandedly remarked that his supposedly 'little girl' had already spent most of her childhood alone, he could only shut himself up with a bitter look on his face.

And so, she was in Sobu High.

Never did it crossed her mind that transferring schools was a very good idea. It was Monday, inside the bland clubroom where her English teacher forced her to run an errand on.

On that room.

The so-called 'Service Club.

She met a pair of eyes she became so familiar of.

He was there, donned with the ever so bored look on his face.

But then, there goes another realization. Of course, it had been years since they last met. She didn't even know his name, nor did he know hers. So it was inevitable, yes, now that she thought about it.

He had forgotten about her.

But regardless, she still introduced herself to him.

 _"You mean... you're that Four Eyes?"_

She couldn't even put on a straight face when he asked her that, wide eyed, as if he had seen a ghost.

Reality wasn't that cruel, it seemed.

Only for her, she supposed.

She later discovered that 'Hikigaya-kun' had became as lonely as she was back then.

He was always alone.

Let her clarify this first though, she was not a stalker, nor did she plan to become one. It was just, he happened to stick out, like a large black dot on a white paper.

That was the reason why she decided to do this.

That was why she reached out.

It was because she wanted to pay him back.

 _"I never asked for your consideration."_

That, he didn't.

 _"I never asked for your worthless pity."_

That, he didn't too.

So why did she do it? Why did she reached out?

 _"There's no way that a 'Little Miss Perfect' like you would give a damn about an outcast like me. But that's the point, wasn't it? That's the reason why you reached out. Because I'm an outcast—the same as you were back when we were children. And since I fell into the same realms as the past you, you feel obligated to reach out in return. Maybe it's also even out of pity."_

He was too right. Too damn right it hurts. So she ran.

She ran as fast as she could, with tears welling on her eyes. She was not crying because she's angry at him. It was because she's sad. So sad for she had been so stupid. She wanted to be mad at him for putting her on such a rough emotional turmoil, but she couldn't bring herself to.

She was constantly being reminded of those times when they were still children, how he looked so happy under that stoic face of his — it was the same expression he held when she introduced herself to him.

He was happy to see her.

Why?

Because he was alone. He was lonely.

But it didn't make sense to her. He seemed to have a lot of people who cares about him. So if that's the case, then why would he be lonely?

Then she realized something.

 _"Just leave me alone."_

Unless he was also pushing them away.

That was the moment when something clicked inside.

When the mystery started to make sense.

She didn't have a clue as to what had driven him to say those words.

She had no idea how he became this way.

But she was sure of one thing.

She would never leave.

So, she turned on her heel and walked back to the place she once ran away from.

After all, she needed to get the books back.

.

.

.

However.

What she saw next was not what she had been expecting.

 **~※~**

With my throat getting scratched by the remaining bile like sandpapers, I managed to utter my fears out.

"Did you... did you see?"

And like a broken dam, everything came flooding back in an overwhelming, fluid quality. Flashes of images gushed through my head endlessly, engulfing every last bit of the back of my brain. They sucked me into a world only I was present, pulling me away from what was real and into a place reminiscent of a deserted street - where two bicycles stood by each other.

I saw a girl, whose eyes were glowing through the sadness of being pushed away. I heard my own scathing words, biting and boiling with venom, hissing with the sole intent to hurt someone.

Then I looked up, and realized that it was not a flashback I was seeing. The shadow before me was not a mere illusion, not my mind playing tricks just to spite me.

She was actually here, in flesh. Nishino was here

"I'm not sure. But if you count seeing someone trying to stab you, then I guess I did saw something."

A silent smirk escaped my lips, echoing on the walls surrounding us. The bite of the early January wind toyed with the strands of my hair, seeping through the bushes and gnawing at my scalp. In my mind, I saw a man with long greasy hair kneeling with a handle of a broken knife in his hands. In my head, I heard muttering, the word "monster" echoing through, crawling inside my ears.

Then I saw a flash of light followed by a clanging sound, and I was back to where I was, leaning on a wall while staring a Nishino's face.

Still trying to cover my left eye with my hand, I cleared my throat and mumbled, "Courtesy of your loyal stalker, apparently..."

To my surprise, she took my words at heart, gasping as she widened her eyes.

Without further ado, she bowed.

"I-I'm sorry. I have no idea he would go as far as to follow me all the way here-"

 _So he really is a stalker. Damn, I could be too perceptive sometimes._

Cutting her off, I raised a hand as a sign for her to stop. "Not your fault. It's not like he's your responsibility or anything-"

But payback was a bitch, and I was cut off as well.

"But he is!"

Sighing, I pushed myself away from the wall, my hand digging into the moss as I attempted to maneuver my legs into moving again. "No, he's not. He is a criminal, a danger to people. It's the polices' damn responsibility. Not yours."

My legs felt gelatinous, immobile and quivery. Every little twitch sent thousands of needles poking on my skin, and try as I might, I couldn't ignore it. My body felt so weak and sensitive all of a sudden, but I tried to move my legs and walk regardless.

"W-where are you...?"

Looking back, I saw Nishino looking at me with both confusion and worry glinting on her eyes.

I cleared my throat. "Didn't I tell you to just leave me alone?"

Her eyes widened, and she looked down, stuttering. "W-well you did... but the thing is..." She stopped mumbling and looked at me straight in the eye, a smile on her face. "I kind of decided not to."

For once, I actually said what was on my mind.

"You're mental."

"Maybe I am. But you can't stop me from doing this."

She really was. No doubts about it. Completely mental.

"I don't get it, Nishino. I really don't. What's driving you to go as far as this? It's not like I did anything remarkable-"

"But you did!" she shouted, her hands forming into fists as she glared at me. "You became my friend, right? Isn't that reason enough?"

"But I already told you!" I shouted back, taking a short step forward and straightening my slouch to assert my physical dominance. "I'm no longer the kid you've met before. Everyone change, and I change. If you're doing this just because you think you could still meet the same pathetic brat, then you're wrong. He's long gone."

For a moment, she just stared at me blankly. She didn't even flinch. She just gave me an inquisitive look, as if she was searching for something hidden inside me.

"Liar."

She hissed that word with such intensity that I actually had to take a step back.

"You think I'd buy that? You think I can accept that you're some cold and heartless person now? You need to get a hold of yourself, Hikigaya-kun. Yes, a lot of time has passed, and I may not know you like how I did before. But let me tell you something," she moved forward, intensifying the glare in her face, "People only change superficially. They make their exterior appear to be the same as what they want to be inside. You might have changed, but at your core, I know... the boy I became friends with is still there."

I was speechless. Nishino was a complete mystery. That was becoming exceedingly apparent, and my mind kept winding back to the words I'd said to her. She just shrugged it all of completely, she was even trying to patch things up with me.

 _What's with this woman?_

Anyone would have hit me if I even talked to them the way I did to her before.

"Alright, let's say I never changed. Let's say that I am still that snotty kid you met. What's the point? What is there to talk about? Us being friends when we're children doesn't necessarily mean that we should still be friends till now."

She looked down, her hands clenching the hem of her dress as if trying to bite back any scathing words. "But I want to be friends with you..."

"Because of what? Because you think you need to pay me back for reaching out? Nishino, I don't want anyone to offer me friendship because they think they owe me. Just imagine this for a sec. What if it was some other person you became friends with? You think you'd still want to keep up with me? No. You'd be out there, not giving me a single sideways glance-"

"Could you please shut up for moment and listen?"

That tone of voice was not something I would've expected for someone like Nishino would take. I could only shut myself instantly and look at her, trying my best to keep my gaze at hers as she look at me blazing eyes.

 _Oh, this is it._

I finally broke the dam.

"Yes. Perhaps "owing'" has everything to do with what I'm trying to do, but that doesn't mean all of my intention revolves around that. Yes. Perhaps in another timeline, in another world, another person became my friend. Perhaps there, I won't try to bother you this much. But does that even matter? No. Because it's you. And no matter how many times you rant about "what if this" and "what if that" nothing will happen. I will still be here."

I was stunned, breathless, and I could only keep silent as she continued.

This was not what I had been expecting.

"You kept asking about why "someone like me" whom you barely even know would try to be your friend. But that's the point of being friends with someone, right? To get to know someone, to earn their trust. You don't have to know everything about a person for you to be able to make friends with them. It's the other way around, Hikigaya-kun. You become friends with someone so you could know them more."

I knew Nishino Yuuki. She was the girl who introduced herself to me as "Four Eyes." However, that was all I know about her. The one I knew, specifically, was her younger self. I had little to no idea as to who she was now.

Yes, there was nothing wrong from trying to be friends with someone. But-

"But why me? It could've been someone else, right?"

And again, I voiced my thoughts out loud.

"You really are a dummy, aren't you?"

She let out a small laugh.

The girl who was crying earlier.

Just laughed at me and called me stupid.

"...that was a really dumb question."

It was. _After all, I'm a dummy, right?_

"But you don't even know me now..."

 _Let me continue being a dummy then, please._

"Look, Hikigaya-kun, allow me to put some sense into you. Back then, when I was so lonely... when even my parents couldn't give me the time of the day, you came. You tried to be my friend. That was all I need to know about you. That was all I need to know to want to be friends with you..."

Friendship was a curse.

Nothing could be achieved by small talks and pointless hanging out. You just cling onto each other, searching for some sense of approval, or acceptance.

It's like how a parasite destroys its host, only with both of them getting ruined in the end.

As I drown myself with these thoughts, Nishino heaved a sigh.

"And besides..." she looked down. "I know you're thinking that I already graduated from being a pathetic book fangirl. You think that I already earned my keep in the social hierarchy. You think this. You assume that. But remember that time when you worried about tarnishing my "reputation"? What did I tell you back then?"

 _I don't really have that much of reputation to begin with._

That was the moment when I started feeling ashamed of myself.

"I never changed, Hikigaya-kun."

She took a step forward.

"I'm still that pathetic _Four Eyes_."

And another.

"I'm still alone."

And another.

"Isn't being lonely not reason enough for me to want to have a friend?"

I know myself more than anyone else, that was a given. The one _Hikigaya Hachiman_ had a bad habit of pushing people away, thinking that by doing so, he was making himself safe from all those rejections he'd faced before. But in the end, he just made things worse.

Choosing to be a loner earned me a "compulsory" application to the Service Club. Pushing Yuigahama away only increased her motivation to try to get close to me more. Staying away from people only caused me to stick out.

And now.

Pushing Nishino had literally just fucked us both over sideways. She had her reasons, and I had mine. I said what I had to say. But did I even try to listen to what she had to say?

No.

I began to question myself. Pushing people away, did that ever made me happy? Again, no. I was human, and I had feelings as well. I wanted to be accepted, to be loved.

But wanting something only leads to disappointment after not getting what you wanted.

I was fed up of those.

I was so tired of expecting nothing.

I was so tired of this game of misunderstandings.

Nishino implied that she wouldn't had reached out should another person became her "childhood friend," which was reasonable and logical no matter how many times you rephrase it. You would never reach out to a stranger, to a person you couldn't give a damn about. But just like she said, did that even matter? I was the one who reached out, and no matter how many times I complain about "what ifs" it would only come to this.

Why couldn't I accept that?

What was wrong with me?

I looked at Nishino, and she stared back, unblinking, unflinching. There was determination brimming in her eyes, yet they were dulled by the darkness that also looms in mine. It was loneliness. I didn't know the one named Nishino Yuuki, saying so would be akin to arrogance. I only know Four Eyes, that girl who wears glasses and always reads books.

But looking at her now, with my mind slowly reaching into realization, a different light was starting to shine.

I realized that we're the same.

Looking back, maybe I already realized this earlier and just averted my eyes to the obvious fact.

Because it made me realize that even if that was so, we were so different too. I would never admit to anything like that without it being pried from my mouth. My past experiences already taught me not to expect something as superficial as having some sort of connection with someone through shared similarities. There was no way I would continue having all those expectations after being pushed away so many times.

But now, looking at this girl, looking at her expectant eyes, I was starting to think twice.

Why couldn't I accept what she wanted?

Was I scared?

But I already got past this. My clubmates would be the living proof of that. Yes, I might not be able to shout at face value that they were my "friends." But I had let them in.

So what was barring me to do the same with Nishino?

 _Why am I being so damn illogical?_

With a sigh, I let out a smile to grace my face.

I already made up my mind.

Only am immensely stubborn person would choose to repeat the same mistakes. Yes, it was easier to walk down the familiar path, but what was the point of staying in what you'd gone used to if it would only end to a pitfall?

This time, I would start to fix the mistakes I'd made.

And all that started with this girl.

"I'm sorry."

Nishino jerked upright, twisting her neck to face me. Her eyes were so huge, glossy and wet with unfallen tears, and the moment her head shook with movement, all of those stacked beads fell in slow motion, gently trickling down her cheeks.

Her lips started to tremble, and her eyes widened even more, starting a freshly made surge of waterworks.

I sighed. It seemed like I was not the only one who misunderstands.

Taking my eyes of hers, I cleared my throat and bowed my head. "I'm sorry... for being such an idiot. I hope you can forgive me."

This what I had chosen to do. No more of this game. No more pushing away. If this girl wants to be friends with me because she was so lonely, then what kind of person I am if I pushed her even further? I wouldn't even be able to look Komachi in the eye if she knew that I did such a thing. Not that I plan to tell her, but you get the point.

Raising my head, I looked at her. She looked back, her eyes even wider than before, (oi stop, you're gonna pop your eyes out) then her shoulders began to shake.

She kept her eyes fixed in mine, a new set of twinkles sparkling in them. Then she laughed, covering her mouth timidly with her fingers and rocking her shoulders in the surge of giggles.

"What are you laughing for?"

Her laughter shook in my bones, sending tremors of embarrassment over my whole body.

"I'm laughing at you," she squeezed between giggles, grinning. "I can't believe I still have to spell it out for you to take a hint. It takes a girl a whole lot of effort to do something that embarrassing, you know? You're such a dummy."

"Guess I deserve that..."

"After all those rude things you said to me? Yeah, you really do."

"I'm really sorry..."

"You don't have to, you know." She lowered her head and sighed, "I think we are what we're raised to be."

"Being an idiot? Um, rude?"

"Eh? No, I don't mean it that way! I mean, it's not your fault that you revert into this always doubting and unapproachable person! Ugh, thanks for ruining the moment, Hikidummy-kun- ah, w-where are you.. ?"

"I'm a bit thirsty. Want to go to that cafe you're talking about? My treat."

I looked back, seeing a confused looking Nishino frantically trying to catch up to me. With my hand still covering half of my face, I cracked a small smile.

I straightened myself up and rubbed my eyes. It's still there, I couldn't shake the feeling. The sensation of something dipping into my pupil, consuming and sclera and covering the entire white surface with a jet black color.

If anything else, I was no longer that afraid of knowing what had happened to my eye. What was worrying me more was the consequences of I was about to do.

But there was no other way around. I was not sure as to what exactly happened, and I wanted to know why. The only person who could explain everything to me was someone who saw the whole thing in a different view.

That would be the person in front of me.

 _Trying_ , her words echoed inside my head, _trying to stab you._

That bastard "tried" to stab me. But what happened next?

Only one way to know.

I removed the hand covering my left eye and faced Nishino.

"C'mon... we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

 **DarkNight21** : You do realize that by asking that, you're giving me the idea of writing a tortured Hachiman, right?

 **kadenismyname:** Thanks man, really appreciated that.

 **nick1012:** I hope I didn't made you choke on your food during lunch break due to how cringeworthy my writing is.

 **SilentXD7:** I'll think about it, though I reaaaally love Yukino(lol).

 **Deutzieg:** Well, greetings, my comrade. Hope this chapters satisfies you.

 **Mokkel:** Oh man, thank you very much for being one of my consistent reviewers, I really appreciate that. Thanks!

 **Godz1llex:** I love this fic too, thanks.

 **HachimanOwlPlease:** Here you go, bud. Sorry for the delay. And "Hachiman Owl"? Hmmm *thinking emoji*

 **Exiled Soul Nomad:** It was not. Really. Believe me. Please.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything

 **Proofread by:** Black Psych

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

* * *

 **~※~**

The moment I took my hand away from covering my left eye, I faced Nishino. To her credit, she didn't even wince in the slightest and only stared dumbfounded at me with widened eyes. She heaved a deep breath and paused, releasing it as she opened her mouth again.

And just when I expected her to scream at the top of her lungs and run away, she pointed a finger at my face and remarked, with an awed tone:

"That was both the coolest and scariest thing I have ever seen in my entire life."

I was flabbergasted at first, but I tried to smooth my expression over after breathing deeply. Then I stared straight in her eyes, holding a finger up to point at my left eye. "Nishino... you mean this... right?"

Of course, I wasn't sure if she really saw what I tried to show her. Thus, to be certain, I took my phone out and used its front-facing camera as a makeshift mirror.

Lo and behold, staring back at me were a pair of mismatched eyes. The right one was rotten-looking, most of it covered in a moist, white surface along with its black iris peeking under the lid. The left eye, however, was more unusual — even when compared to the other one. The sclera was colored black and it had a tangle of red pulsing veins connected to the twitching iris of the same color.

It was almost a disappointment to see it there again, after I tried so hard to vanish the thought away from my head and pretend there was nothing to be worried about. On top of that, there was this girl I had to deal with.

"Um, yes... what else would I mean?"

Tilting her head and blinking repeatedly, Nishino posed a question I would have expected a retard to ask. At first I thought she was joking with that offhand remark, but when I saw the genuine confusion on her face, I realized, with great bafflement, that she was actually serious.

I took about a minute of silence, giving myself a few moments to recall the events in chronological order, so as to analyze everything with a clear head.

First, and foremost, I spouted many rude words towards Nishino, prompting her to run away in tears. Then, not long after I started walking home, some random bastard wielded a knife at me. But instead of getting disemboweled, I found the assaulter kneeling on the ground with a broken knife at hand.

And, according to what Nishino had implied earlier, it's possible that she witnessed all of that from start to finish.

This girl — the one who had just witnessed her supposed stalker attack another person she knew — was looking at me with a confused expression, even after I showed her something that would have made anyone run away.

It took a great deal of effort to suppress the shudders that ran through my spine just now.

 _Just what the hell is this girl made of?_

I put a hand on my forehead, flicking the bangs sticking onto it. "Just... just why are you taking this so well?" I asked, my voice hoarse and slightly frightened.

"I don't know," Nishino replied with the same expression and asked, in a confused, flat tone, "why are you taking this so seriously?"

I couldn't stop myself from inhaling another deep breath, so I ended up doing so. Backing away a little, I huffed a sigh once more to ease my strained nerves.

 _Just what kind of response was that?_

But as I almost doubted who Nishino Yuuki actually was, the girl in question urgently shook her head and interrupted me, walking a few steps closer.

"I... I mean, is this even something you should be worrying so much about?" she asked, stretching her hand towards my face, only to pull it back in hesitation.

"...Aren't you even scared?"

"Well, I said it's both scary... and cool. So in a way, the scary side of the look somehow fades in comparison with, uh... the weirdness."

I found the whole look shocking and horrfying, while Nishino just found it weird. No words could describe the mixed feelings I was having at the moment.

"No, more importantly — what's that? Contact lens?"

But then she asked me that, leading my tangled state of mind to form a reasonable conclusion. Of course, there was the possibility that she mistook this change in my appearance as cosplay on my part.

"No... not at all. It's, uh... oh, come to think of it, I'm not sure either."

"H-Hold on... you mean, that... that's natural?"

And, of course, I couldn't help but correct her assumption — like an idiot. Still clutching my forehead, my shoulders slumped as I lamented about how easy it would have been to get away without explaining anything... if I had just kept my mouth shut.

But since there was no point in crying about spilt milk, I reluctantly agreed. "It's weird, but yes... I didn't put anything on."

If not for my current situation, I would have admired the sudden twinkle that possessed Nishino's eyes as I said that. It seemed that, rather than being scared by this... this disgusting left eye, she found it fascinating.

Nishino appeared eager to touch it, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable since it gave off the weird impression that I was some kind of a zoo animal.

But as I was about to say something along the lines of 'No touching!' in an admonishing tone, Nishino squeaked in surprise and pointed at my face. "Oh! Look, look! It's fading!"

I didn't even have to ask what she meant by that. Instead, I raised my phone with the camera app still open to my face. "Yeah, it's gone now," I said with a breath of relief.

I didn't get the chance to see the actual vanishing process, but both of my eyes were back to their usual distasteful form... somehow eliciting a smile on my face.

"Does that happen often?" Nishino asked and I looked up to see her worried face glancing in my direction. During the time I wasn't looking, she ended up standing beside me.

"...No, just now. What do you mean?"

"Oh, I mean... maybe that's an... um, an eye complication, or something..."

That cued me to pause from examining my eye and look back and forth between it and Nishino. With that attempted stabbing from earlier, the possibility of this strange change being beyond a natural symptom actually sounded spot on to me. But now that I was finally able to think straight, I realized just how silly I had been. The failed stabbing part was still bugging me though...

"A complication, huh... or maybe an infection. But how would that explain it suddenly vanishing?"

Having no answer to that, Nishino stayed silent.

"Meh, whatever. There are still a lot of things I need to ask you about than just that." I stretched before putting my phone back into my pocket and glanced at the opening that led to the road outside. "So, uh... can we get out of this place now?"

Nishino nodded wordlessly and the two of us, coming to the same agreement, headed side by side out of the filthy alley.

 **~※~**

The café we ended up going to was your usual one; not the best out there, but not too bad either. The place was nothing to be awed at, though it was probably the serenity of the atmosphere that made it stand out to someone like Nishino.

We both took seats near the window and faced each other. It was a bit unnerving how I went over the whole process of picking the best seats and ordering something so smoothly, as if out of habit. Looks like my practice dates with Isshiki bore fruit after all.

But it's not like I think of this as a romantic date. If anything, this feels more like a business meeting, so that was probably the reason why I didn't feel awkward at all. I mean, initially, I was here to pick up the books she offered to lend me and to talk... about some things.

Recalling that part, I shook my head, clearing the other mundane thoughts inside it. That was the main reason why I decided to come here with Nishino, after all.

I cleared my throat, prompting the brown haired girl to look up from the book she was examining. It was one of the books she was supposed to lend me and, after that fiasco from earlier, it seems she took it upon herself to inspect if some had been damaged.

Just looking at her act like that made me wonder just how obsessed this girl was with her books. I cleared my throat again. "Let's get this straight, okay? I'll just confirm something. So, to make this quick, all you have to do is answer either yes or no, alright?"

Nishino snapped the book shut and quirked a sarcastic brow. "Is that your way of trying to act cool, Hikigaya-kun?"

"My, thanks for that interruption."

Sighing after receiving that unexpected comeback, I continued, "Okay. That guy back there, you know him, right?"

Like I requested, Nishino answered with one word. "Yes."

"And, he's your stalker?"

"Yes."

"And you saw him as he, uh... tried to stab me?"

Nishino looked down, swallowing hard. "...Yes."

"Alright," I leaned on my chair, narrowing my eyes. "Tell me what you meant exactly by 'tried to'."

"Hikigaya-kun," she began, suddenly flashing me a sweet smile. "I thought all I had to say was either yes or no?"

"Is that your way of trying to act witty, Nishino?"

Seemingly satisfied by my reaction, Nishino giggled a bit before adjusting to a more serious expression, her voice lowered, "Yes, he tried to stab you... with, uh, a knife, of course."

"Then?"

"Well, he ran towards your direction and swung that knife to your stomach."

"Oh..."

It was honestly alarming how that sentence came out of her lips so casually, as if she was just chatting about the latest gossip. Nishino must have noticed my reaction and cleared her throat in an urgent manner, shaking her head at the same time.

Then, back in the tone I could only describe as her usual one, she continued, "The thing is, the knife made contact, I'm certain of it..."

"I can sense a 'but' in there."

She nodded gravely. "But, when it did... the knife broke."

I let out a deep breath that I unknowingly held. I didn't have any idea why I felt a sense of relief from hearing that, so I set it aside to mull about later. For now, I would let myself bask over the obscurity of how I was still alive — despite everything.

"Hikigaya-kun..."

Out of the blue, Nishino's voice snatched me out of my thoughts. I looked up, seeing her stare back at me with a conflicted look on her face. Then, after closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she asked me something in a very solemn tone.

"Are you Superman?"

Only a cold, long silence could describe my response to that.

Realizing the blunder on her comedic attempt, Nishino looked down and giggled sheepishly. "Sorry, I couldn't stop myself."

"No, thank you. That clarified something, at least," I assured with a wave of my hand. "It calmed me down a bit to know what actually happened, despite how... absurd it is."

At the same time I leaned back on my seat after saying that, the waitress arrived to hand us our orders. Since we both lost our appetite, courtesy of a certain incident, we just ordered something to drink.

Nishino took a sip from her iced coffee, prompting me to do the same. And right after I put down my glass of barley tea, the girl before me spoke while cautiously looking around.

"Um, about that eye thing. Don't you think you should have some precaution, at least? You said you're not even sure about it yourself, so what if that suddenly occurs when you least expect it?"

I raised a brow, trying to lighten her up with a joke. "What, you want me to wear an eyepatch or something?"

But, rather than what I anticipated, she took my words seriously. "Not really — though that's a good idea. What do you think?"

"I don't think so..." I trailed off, not expecting this outcome. "An eyepatch may be a good precaution, but it'd be troublesome in the long run. I mean, I wasn't even serious when I suggested that."

Nishino frowned at that, but I was not done yet.

"My point is, wearing something like an eyepatch would cause me more trouble than it's worth, so no, I guess."

"But what will you do in the worst case scenario?" she persisted, but even before I could ask her to clarify, she continued with a tone reeking of urgency, "You don't have to worry about me since I'm willing to be quiet if you want to keep this as a secret, but what about other people? I don't want to force you to do anything, but... are you aware of the danger behind all this?"

"...Danger?"

Except for that echo, that was all I could utter.

"Look here, Hikigaya-kun," she called to me so formally that I actually had no other choice **but** to look. "Let's say what happened to your eye was not just some weird anatomical reaction and that you broke the knife back there by somehow experiencing a body mutation in a spur of the moment... and what if that eye is proof that something inside you changed and you're no longer normal? Why would that suddenly happen? Did you just change overnight? You slept, then you suddenly woke up with the ability to bend knives with your stomach?"

"Whoa, hey, slow down. Gee, tone down the scifi, won't you..." — I mean, what the hell? Anatomical reaction? Body mutation? You can't just casually drop phrases like that, you know?

I couldn't stop myself from looking at her with disbelieving eyes, a gesture she took heatedly.

"Do I look like I'm joking, Hikigaya-kun?"

I frowned in response, trying to see through her for reasons why she reacted that way. But all I could see was a slightly irritated Nishino and it was hard to think of other reasons as to why I drove her mad.

"N-No, I mean... why are you suddenly getting worked up about this?"

"Isn't it normal to be worried when my friend is in danger?"

That instant answer was something I only ever expected to hear from a certain pinkhead, so it left me with a weird feeling inside my chest. And I'll tell you what, it was far from pleasant.

Thus, I posed a change of subject to distract both her and myself.

"No, just... what's this danger you're babbling about?"

Nishino gently shook her head. "Answer me first. Was that the first time you experienced something like that? I mean, over your whole life, so far?"

"—First time..."

And just like that, a series of gruesome images flashed inside my head; I saw a braided girl lying in a pool of her own blood, then I saw another girl with blood trickling down her cheeks — alive, but holding a look of murderous intent on her face.

And lastly, I saw myself in a picture with my stomach ripped open.

I already had an answer but, despite all that, I responded differently.

"...Yeah, that was the first time."

"Are you sure?"

As expected, Nishino didn't buy it. I was sure since my tone didn't sound convincing, after all. "You know, we won't be getting anywhere if you insist on keeping everything to yourself. If you don't want to tell me everything, alright, just answer either yes or no like I did for you."

She stared intently at me again but, unlike before, her gaze seemed to be wavering, as if she was close to tears.

"But please, be honest with me... I'm just trying to help."

Hearing her plead like that, there was no way I could refuse.

Feeling defeated, I corrected my words, "...I mean, no, this is not... the first time."

A smile of relief bloomed on her face as I admitted that, emitting a blinding aura which caused me to avert my eyes. I sighed, frowning at how lame I reacted to that, and looked back again.

Nishino had reverted to her serious look.

—Oh wait, come to think of it, this girl actually has a habit of changing her expressions quite easily. One moment she was crying, the next she was spouting science fiction terms. I hate to say it, but it would really take some time before I could get used to this weird quirk of hers.

Well, it's not like I think we're close enough to require some level of acclimation. But as my head drifted back to its usual thinking process, a distant voice echoed inside my ears.

 _You don't have to know a lot about someone to be_ _come_ _friends with them, it's the other way around. You try to become friends to know them more._

I slumped my shoulders after remembering those words. Alright, I really should stop deluding myself like this. Nishino helped me realize this after all, so it made sense to try applying this change of pace with her.

I shook my head, keeping that reminder to myself, and pulled myself back to the present to look at Nishino once again, who had taken that as a cue to start talking again.

"Now, try to think back," she said in a low tone. "If this is not the first time you encountered something strange like this, can you remember a certain incident — a very unusual one that marked the beginning of this series of weird events?"

A frown found its path towards my face and I kept silent. That was because right even before Nishino asked that question, I already figured out the answer.

That day, right even before that cursed meeting in the Student Council room, I was sure that was the point that marked the beginning of all this.

I looked at her, shook my head, and asked about her stalker as a way to change the subject.

 _Th_ _at_ _event is definitely_ _best kept to myself..._

 **~※~**

Maruyama Jun was, at the very least, content with his role in life. Even though both of his parents died in an accident a year ago, he dropped out of high school, and his grandmother, the only family member he had left, was recently hospitalized — as long as he had a camera with him, everything would be just fine.

He was aware that this sentiment was immoral and unreasonable, but so was life — wasn't it?

Life was always moving fast and he couldn't seem to ever catch up. That was why he took the initiative to just take life for himself and suspend every gorgeous moment with a picture.

It was about taking a shot in the dark and praying the film would develop just right the next day, after slaving for hours in a dark room. It was photo after photo after photo; being told by random phonies that you have talent, that you have promise, all the while being compared to elementary school artistry.

There was no difference there. Life and photography. But he couldn't let go of it, because behind all that pain and rejection was his happiness. For Jun, there was nothing more unusual than the euphoric feeling he always had whenever he pressed the capture button and the shutter rung out.

Nothing could ever be more unusual than that.

That was what he believed, until now.

The moment he ran into an alleyway, with a broken knife in hand, only to be greeted by the muzzle of a gun pointed straight at his face.

Yes, nothing more unusual indeed. Screw the euphoric feelings and sentiments, the level of weirdness of this situation was even beyond his comprehension.

A man listlessly stood before him, aiming the gun as if doing such a thing was the most boring, casual skill of all. He frowned and the second he asked, "Can I request you to please forget everything you saw back there?" Jun felt himself shiver at the realization that this weird day was far from over.

For goodness sake, he was just running after witnessing something he thought could only happen in superhero movies. It was not everyday that you tried to stab someone with literal rock-hard abs, after all.

And only seeing those mismatched pair of eyes immediately afterwards was enough for him to flee. No more, that was enough stabbing for today, he chastised himself. He was scared, not because he might have attacked an android from another planet, but because... he recognized one of those mismatched eyes.

Jun had already seen something like that before.

"Ahem."

The stranger cleared his throat and Jun looked up, remembering that there was a gun currently pointed at his face.

Jun was usually calm, but not now. "A-Are you in cahoots with that... that, monster back there?" he squeaked, trying to sound brave. Just uttering the word "monster" sent shivers down his spine.

The man snorted as he shrugged, still pointing the gun at Jun. "Ah you know, I'm quite a busy man and, unlike you, I have a lot of... adult duties to do. Let us deal with this quick, shall we?"

His tone was casual and lacked any sign of aggressiveness, but Jun knew better. The calmer the person was, the more dangerous they were. If a person could point a gun at point blank range and act all bored like that — that person was certainly someone to be wary of, even for someone like Jun.

"Let me repeat," the man looked at him again, his tone becoming more firm, more threatening. "Are you willing to keep silent about this?"

"Don't play with me..." Jun gulped, backing away a little, only to hit his back against a wall, "not like I have a choice at all, do I? Either way, you're just going to kill me!" Having his only path of escape blocked caused Jun to panic and raise his voice.

The man sighed, "Fool, you don't go shouting things like that in a place like this. Do you want to get in deeper trouble with the authorities?" He peeled the gun and pointed it at himself, then back to Jun again. "Between us, a doctor and a filthy stalker, who do you think would be at a disadvantage?" Then, he slipped his free hand into a coat pocket, fishing for his phone before showing its screen to him. "And tell you what, you were not the only one taking pictures."

The display showed a picture of the long haired boy, holding a knife against another person. _What a shot_ , Jun mused. _Not bad_.

"What?" Jun replied with feigned relaxation, flicking his shoulder length hair. "Are you threatening me with those photos — which shows how he broke my knife like a goddamn man of steel? Yeah, good luck with that."

Just who in the world would believe something like that, anyway? Jun knew that what he saw back there was true, but just seeing it with his own eyes was not enough evidence at all.

"I like that attitude. You're like a maggot squirming around, it's funny," chuckled the unknown man. "Tell me, who do you think would believe that story of yours after I report you for physical assault? And mind you I'm no photographer, but I caught a clear shot of someone attacking another person with a knife. Pretty solid evidence here, don't you think?"

 _He was right_ , Jun agreed glumly to himself. The shot showed how Jun attacked that person, not how the knife broke upon contact. No matter which way one would look at it, Jun was still the villain in the picture.

"Just what the hell do you want with me? If you want me to shut my mouth about this — sure, okay, I won't trouble you any further! I just wanna make sure you won't kill me!"

"I said don't shout..." the man put his phone back into his pocket and, much to Jun's surprise, lowered the gun from his face. "And to clarify, I really do not intend to kill you at all — well, unless you keep being annoying of course. Point is, this humble uncle stranger here wants to offer you a nice deal."

Relaxing for a second, Jun asked, "W-What deal?"

"Two deals, actually. But don't you worry, I'm sure you won't mind them." He walked closer, one hand still holding the gun at his side. "First one, as I said, is to make sure you keep silent about this. Do that and I'll leave you alone. You have my word."

Jun eyed the gun cautiously and looked at the man. "Can I really trust you with this?"

"You know," the man palmed his forehead and wiggled the gun again in front of Jun's face, "this is not a discussion regarding who can trust who, it's about trying my best not to resort to violent procedures." Then his hand steadied and, before Jun knew it, the gun was pointed directly at him again. "Now tell me, I'm in a hurry here."

Swallowing hard, he agreed, "...Deal." Jun had plans for that monster, but dying wouldn't be a good price to pay, so he set it aside. And besides, it was not like he actually had to follow his orders.

If this man would go as far as to threaten him about keeping the whole thing a secret, it was obvious that his whole focus was on that person. So unless he tried to do something direct, this man wouldn't notice anything.

For now Jun needed to convince this man that he was scared shitless, so he wouldn't have to resort to killing him.

The man frowned for a second and Jun placed extra effort into making himself look unsightly by scrunching his face into a cowardly expression as he met his eyes.

"Splendid." After a moment, he nodded and abruptly snatched another thing from his coat pocket, prompting Jun to genuinely shrink away. "Now, for the second one... here, take this."

The man threw a thick bundle of money at him. Jun caught it by reflex and he couldn't stop himself from sending an awed look at the large amount of bills in his hands. After composing himself, he heaved a deep breath and politely raised his brow at the man.

In response to Jun's confusion, he explained, "In exchange for you to stay away from those brats."

Jun furrowed his brows, not fully realizing the requirement at first. Eventually he did. "Y-You mean... away from Nishino-san?" he gasped in horror, forgetting to keep up his front.

"If you mean that girl you've been fantasizing over, then yes. Leave her alone, leave her sappy crush alone, and we all will live happily ever after."

In the blink of an eye, the man had moved closer to Jun and pressed the muzzle of the gun against the latter's forehead once more."But if by any chance you try something funny, I'll have no choice but to play the villain after all."

Jun wanted to do something, to protest or to at least throw away the bundle of money in his hands — but he couldn't do a thing. Like a paralysis poison, the cold metal against his forehead stopped him from moving an inch. "H-How..." he uttered, his words feebly coming out, "n-no, there's no way I'd stay away from—"

"What? Are you serious?" The man mocked him, laughing scornfully. "After attacking her precious childhood crush like that, do you still think that girl would ever forgive you?"

No, even if he hadn't attacked that guy from back there, the girl he worshipped would have never accepted him to begin with.

Nishino Yuuki, one of Jun's classmates from a year ago — back when he was still a student in Tokyo. They were not even friends. He doubted she even knew he existed. But Jun admired her. Not because she was perfect and beautiful.

It was the opposite, actually.

It was because she seemed incomplete, a beautiful puzzle with a missing piece. An enthralling mystery, full of secrets and hidden glamor. The way she smiled, the way she talked to people — they felt empty and only Jun noticed that.

Her smiles were vibrant and dancing but, in Jun's eyes, they appeared to lack something. That was what made Jun obsessed with her. He wanted to know why Nishino Yuuki was empty. He wanted to be the one to fill that gap within her. Jun wanted her to smile her best, so that he could take his most wanted picture.

Nishino Yuuki's true smile, Jun always wanted to capture that.

So how, how could Jun achieve that if he was to stay away from her? Perhaps he had never even gotten close enough, but that was his role; to stay away and wait for a time when he would be able to make her smile. But now, if he insisted, he might get killed. And dying meant he would no longer be able to capture his anticipated masterpiece.

 _What should I do? What should I do?_

Jun opened his mouth, realizing just now that he had been sweating so much. "But... if I can, at least... glance at her from afar—"

"Spare me from that, please."

But he stopped, hearing the annoyed tone in the stranger's voice. He glanced upwards, seeing irritation apparent in the face of the man holding his life hostage. Come to think of it, he wasn't even that young to begin with. All of his hair was gray and he had wrinkles on his face, so Jun figured this was an old man, at least.

After looking at the stranger's appearance, he recalled something.

Jun loved his grandmother, the one who took him in when his parents died. She used to tell him a lot of stories in the past but, after she had been hospitalized, she could barely even talk anymore. Jun had been very sad about that.

Maybe that was the reason why he had a soft spot for the elderly. It was because they looked weak and helpless, as if they would fall with a single nudge. Perhaps it triggered Jun's protective instincts.

So Jun started to wonder; this man before him was the same... no? Just how could he be weak and helpless? He might have the same wrinkles and gray hair his grandmother had, but this man was different, wasn't he?

Jun could never imagine his grandmother smiling like that. It was a smile full of ominous intent, something that dug through your soul with a shovel.

Just how could an old person be so frightening?

"...Alright, if that's what you want... fine." Jun lowered his head and clutched the bundle of money in his chest, resolving to not let it go. This could be useful for his grandmother. "Just... just leave me alone."

"And how can I make sure you're not lying?"

 _You can't_ , Jun admitted with a snort to himself while he slowly moved away, keeping a downcast expression on his face. After debating about it for a moment, he reluctantly took the lace of the camera dangling on his neck and threw it in the man's direction. He didn't hear a crashing sound, so he assumed the man caught it.

"That's yours now... do whatever you want with it, I don't give a damn anymore."

Jun had his doubts that this man would really spare him, so he needed to get out of this place as fast as possible. If Jun were the stranger, he would doubt his own actions too, so the former needed to look convincing at the very least.

This man believed that Jun was a stalker and, judging by the norm, he might also believe that this camera was a sacred item. So by giving the object up, it would create the impression that Jun had truly lost his motivation.

What a perfect move.

The camera Jun had given the man was just his old, battered model and the newer one he used for his blog was safely hidden inside his room, along with his prized captures. Of course, the old one had sentimental value since it came from his parents, but a little sacrifice for his own life would not make him feel bad at all.

Trying his best to not look back, he continued dragging himself forward in the most depressed-looking way possible. "...Just leave me alone," he uttered one last time.

He didn't hear a response, so he walked faster. By the time he turned a corner, he ran as fast as he could for his dear life.

 **~※~**

After about a half hour of explaining things out to each other, we both went our separate ways. Nishino, being the one with information about the person who attacked me, told me everything she knew about him. During our talk, it had been cleared to me that this guy (someone named Maruyama) was once her classmate back when she was still a student in Tokyo. That part baffled me the most, considering how far Chiba was from Tokyo; only the bullet train could help you out if you're making this commute everyday. I found it hard imagining that guy travelling back and forth between two places everyday, so it was likely that he moved here in accordance to Nishino transferring schools.

Just imagining how determined that guy was for following Nishino, no matter where she went, made me doubt just how lucky I was to have her as a childhood friend...

Not that I felt pity for him. But still, Nishino was here trying her best to be my friend while he was out there — being a miserable sod since he couldn't get over her.

Damn, scratch that. Maybe, just a bit, I felt sorry for that guy.

Well anyway, since he seemed scared shitless of me already, I could trust that he wouldn't dare come back at me for another confrontation. So Nishino and I did our best to ignore that issue altogether. And so, the stalker issue had its last curtain call.

However, just when I thought that everything had been addressed, Nishino suddenly offered to help me find out about the peculiarities that occurred today. Namely, the red eye and metal bending things.

Her reason?

It was simple: She was curious about it.

 _Was her real name Chitanda, or something?_

Sitting in front of my desk, I let out a breath. Since Nishino was being so adamant about it, I let her have her way. It was just research, after all. And it's not like I had a say on what she chose to do, even if it was my own body she was researching about...

Just how petty had I become?

That aside, from unexpected reconciliations to stalker assaults, this day had really exhausted all of my reserved energy for a whole week. It's not that much of a complaint, but I would probably end up being a sloth until Monday.

However, regardless of my beaten physical state, I still had to do something important in preparation for other troublesome matters. I'm sure Nishino was serious when she offered to do some research; there was no way I'd be lazy and have her do all the work alone.

And thus, for the sake of my conscience, I was currently in my room doing some goddamn research on a Saturday evening — when I should be sleeping!

Heaving a deep sigh, I looked at my laptop with an empty search engine on display. I already spent quite some time researching random things revolving around 'red eye complications' but, aside from a certain internet thread, all I could find were a bunch of medical articles about sore eyes and normal stuff.

Useless. Utterly useless. If this thing was just a sore eye, then why the hell did it look like something out of a manga or whatever? Apart from being disgusting, it looked completely different; something almost nonhuman.

With no other choice, I clicked on the last search item on the list. The title of the thread was about a photo of a particular person with a red eye, taken a few months ago. At first, I was hesitant to peek through it, because it seemed painfully obvious that it was just a shitpost — but it really bugged me how the red eyed part sent me goosebumps.

Upon clicking, the screen loaded and, finally, I was transferred to a certain blog site of someone named 'Jun'. I scrolled through the stack of meticulously taken camera shots until I found what I was looking for; a small picture labelled "red eyed".

With the mouse cursor slightly shaking since my hand was doing the same, I maximized it.

Lo and behold, in front of me was a fair-looking woman with the same hair color as Yuigahama. She was wearing glasses and seemed oblivious to the camera in front of her. There was a dazed look on her face and I found it really creepy. It seemed that the picture was taken at night, since it was so dark and I could barely make out her face.

But one thing stood out the most. Staring back at me with hostile intent were her eyes, both of which had a similar appearance to my left eye from earlier.

It was definitely the same, no doubt about it. Since I was terrified, every detail of its appearance was left in an afterimage at the back of my mind. I glanced back at the screen once again, examining the pair of black scleras, red pupils, and a bunch of red nerves surrounding each eye.

Finally, regardless of how stupid the whole thing was, I found an answer to all of my doubts. After flexing my fingers, I copied the email address associated with the person who ran the blog site.

I breathed deeply, and started typing my message, "...Alright, Jun-san. You need to tell me where you got this picture."

…

As planned and expected, I spent the whole Sunday recovering after that damn strenuous Saturday. I think I slept for more than ten hours; before I even realized it, it was Monday and I was on my way to school.

I couldn't help feeling uneasy about going to club today though, since I was sure Yuigahama would pester me about what happened with my supposed "date" until I gave up. Not that I planned to keep everything to myself, but there really was no roundabout way I could talk about it. I mean, should I just sack up and tell them everything? I was sure Yuigahama would find the whole dramatic flair between Nishino and myself a big deal; if not, it was Yukinoshita who would fuss about the stalker affair. I also got a feeling that, if they heard the whole story, they would go and run to console Nishino and just brush my near death experience aside.

I sighed. Yeah it's a bit against my new principles, but just the sitting in the café part would do. At least I'm sure Isshiki would be happy to know that I could finally use everything she taught me in the field... right?

The school came into view and I commenced my usual routine after I passed through the gates: locked my bike at the racks, changed into my indoor shoes, checked the text message I sent last night, and climbed up the stairs to the rooftop, after making sure no one else was around.

Oh, did I say usual routine? Alright, you can scratch that.

As for the text message, it was definitely something unusual for someone of my status to have initiated. Before this year began, I had a just few contact numbers in my phone — and by few, I meant the total wouldn't even reach the amount of fingers in either of my hands. But later on, Yuigahama, Totsuka, and even Hiratsuka-sensei were added to the list. It was still a short list, but much longer than you'd expect from a loner.

But I digress, because of my scarce amount of contacts, I had come to memorize each and every one of them. From names to their corresponding numbers — heck, I could even recite them in alphabetical order if someone asked me to. Point is, I knew my contact list like the back of my hand, so I would definitely notice if something had changed about it.

Last night, while screwing around with my phone, I felt a sudden surge of guilt when I remembered how I deleted Nishino's number from my phone, right in front of her. Good thing the message she sent me before was still in my inbox, so I could restore it without any problems.

However, while I was in the process of saving a contact labelled 'Four Eyes' again, I noticed something strange with the list.

There was a contact I couldn't remember saving.

The contact included both first and surname, and I felt myself suddenly shuddering. At first, I was puzzled about why **her** contact name would be in my phone when I didn't even really know the girl, much less asked her for it. Then I realized, she was probably the one who put it in there, knowing that I would find a use for it in the future.

I was the kind of person who felt uncomfortable when others touched something that belonged to me, so there's no doubt that I wouldn't let a person, who's barely an acquaintance, fiddle with my phone without my permission.

So how did she do it? The answer was simple.

She saved it while I was unconscious, on that awful day...

I took a quick peek at my phone, rereading the message I sent to that particular contact last night. 'Monday, school rooftop, before class. I need to talk to you, please.' it said. I chucked my phone back into my pocket, looked behind myself one last time, and huffed a deep breath before twisting the knob and opening the door to the rooftop.

The early morning breeze flew past my face once again. I closed my eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply and savoring the sensation, right before facing reality.

"Good morning," a sweet voice came from the girl standing before me, my ears almost numbing in the process. Her hair, tied into two loose and fluffy twintails, swayed with the wind. "I'm here, just like you asked."

"Yeah, thanks for coming."

I offered a polite smile and my upperclassman, Shiromeguri Meguri, smiled back.

* * *

 **Note:** Been a little while, huh? I know I should at least apologize, but I won't, as I'm sure you already expected the lame late-update excuses. As you can tell, (if you're aware of my other written projects) that I have been sooo in love with my LOOP and decided to write a straight three-chapter update before going back to this. Not to mention I also took my time writing three sets of parodies... and another crossover.

It might seem like I'm neglecting neglecting this story, but I assure you, I am NOT in the slightest. My motivation is still as mad as it ever was, and I still have a lot of crazy ideas to share. If anything, that break feels more like a preparation for me to actually dive in seriously with this story. LOOP has been getting better reception and reviews, but that doesn't mean I will abandon this story because of that. This is my first story, and in here, I can see how I'm improving bit by bit through each update – so it has more sentimental value than you would expect.

Also, I created an AO3 account because I plan to post a much better version of this story there. It might not be that bad, but a little polishing won't hurt. I know you guys only care about updates, (I know) so I will just post the majorly rewritten one on another site.

 **HachimanOwlPlease** : I really wish you make an account since I'd been itching to reply to you. That request about Hachiman being Owl is very tempting (really), but I have different plans for him. Something I think will be more believable and... cooler. If you really want something like that though, I'll say I'm curently considering adding an Owl in this story except for Yoshimura or Eto (maybe someone from the Oregairu side.)

Also, I'm already happy with the support this story is getting, so I'll just stick with this being a crossover. Because it IS, and labeling it otherwise would be, like... well, cheating. But thanks for the support, anyway!


	11. Chapter 10

**Proofread by** : Black Psych

* * *

 _ **Chapter Ten**_

* * *

At some point, I figured the only way to clarify everything that bugged me was to confront the other person involved in the same mess.

Although it was a little alarming that I had to round up clarification from her, of all people I really had no other choice. This is because, apart from the fact that only the two of us knew about the truth, there was no way I could confide this affair with other people.

Not with my family, clubmates, or even Nishino.

This whole thing involved a murder case, a bunch of lies and lots of blood. So there was no way in hell I would involve the people I valued, only to endanger them.

This was my own problem and I would be fixing it alone.

Well, no, not really. At least, for now, I would be needing someone else's perspective and that s exactly what I intend to get from this meeting. It was Monday, an hour early before classes began and I was standing on the school s rooftop with the person who contemplated killing me just a week ago:

 _Shiromeguri Meguri._

Closing the door behind me, I strode forward against the early morning breeze blowing past. Shiromeguri-senpai was clad in her school uniform, looking almost as immaculate as a certain sticker for the rules I knew. She didn't show any reaction at all, despite of the unsightly expression I probably had on my face. I could be glaring or scowling but, either way, I was sure that what I had on my face right now was far from pleasant.

I felt tense, scared and was ready to flee at any moment.

This person tried to kill me, I kept reminding myself. Not to mention she actually succeeded in killing someone else.

Contrary to mine, the girl in front of me actually had a smile on her face and it also held the usual fluffiness to it the exact same smile I used to think was cute before.

But after all of what I had seen and experienced on that horrendous night, my opinion of her drastically changed. And, mind you, the word "cute" wouldn't ever again have a place in it. Ever since then, I began to have images of her smiling face flash randomly inside my head.

And, at the same time, I wondered: apart from myself, just how many others had she deceived with that dangerous mask of hers?

As if noticing my inner turmoil, a slight frown formed on my upperclassman's face. "You don't have to be so guarded," she said, backing away a few steps and smiling with less intensity from before. "Apart from the fact that I don't really want to harm you at all, doing otherwise will only cause me trouble." She clapped her hands together. "So, loosen up, okay?"

"And besides," she continued, throwing a can of a very familiar brand of coffee in my direction, "you're the one who called me here. You're being kind of rude, you know?"

In surprise, I ended up raising my brows at the can of MAX Coffee in my hands. "Oh..." Shiromeguri-senpai let out a worried sound. "You don't like that? Sorry, I didn't know what you liked so I just picked one out the same as mine," she said, presenting a similar can in her hands while grinning sheepishly.

I shook my head. "No, it's okay." I was a bit unnerved to find out that we both shared the same taste in coffee but expressing a little appreciation wouldn't hurt. "Thanks."

A smile blossomed on her face at that and she sat on the floor without even dusting it, leaning her slender back against the wall, while taking a sip of her drink.

As a precaution, I opened the door, looked outside and, after making sure no one was around, locked it shut once again. Then I climbed up the ladder of the water tank, searching for any signs of a blue ponytail, and breathing a relieved sigh at the lack of any person above it.

The girl mutely sipping her drink raised a brow at what I was doing.

"A classmate of mine used to hang around here." Someone I couldn't even remember the name of, I might have added, but that was not important at the moment. I jumped down and sat two meters away from her. "Can't risk getting overheard."

"Hmm," she hummed in response, quirking a brow. "So, I'm guessing you have questions for me?"

Not just for you, I had questions for myself too. One that I was sure I couldn't find the answers for just yet. I clenched my fist and, after sighing deeply, I nodded. "Yeah..."

Suddenly, she giggled. "I must say, it took you long enough, huh?" Without paying mind to the wary glance I threw at her, she continued, "I'm a bit amazed how you didn't notice anything strange right after that... um," she swallowed hard, "... _incident_."

"No, I actually noticed a lot of weird things lately," I denied in a flat tone. "I just resolved myself to never talk to you again until now, that's all."

She winced after hearing my straight declaration, and I was certain, by the way her face paled, that she was trying hard not to show how my words affected her. "Well, you're here, now," she forced a smile and looked at me. "I wonder what s pushed you to actually come and meet me again, after all that resolve?"

"Nothing serious. Just another matter of life and death."

To my surprise, she actually looked worried at that. " _What happened_?" she asked in an urgent-sounding whisper.

Narrowing my eyes, I scrutinized her with caution. I was frightened at how I couldn't see through her reactions at all, because I had no idea if she was genuinely worried or not. Who knows if she's only doing this to extort information from me?

But then I realized that I would probably end up telling her either way, so I relented. "I was stabbed the other day " I cut myself off, shaking my head, "no, more like almost stabbed, actually."

To my bafflement, the worried look on her face faded away, replaced by one that conveyed understanding. "Okay, let me guess," she said, looking at me with an all-knowing expression. "The knife broke, didn't it?"

I widened my eyes and took a sharp breath. "I kind of expected you to know that..." Then I let out a dry, quiet chuckle, "But how the hell did you know "

"Let's just say I've went through a similar experience," she cut me off quickly with a wave of her hand. Her tone was so matter-of-factly that I had no other choice but to stop asking for more. If she had been through the same horrible experience, then there was no point interrogating her for it. It would just be a complete pain for the both of us, after all. Better not to poke fresh and unhealed wounds.

So instead of going further down that route, I headed straight for the main topic. "What's happening to me?" I narrowed my eyes, heaving a deep breath and putting enough stress in my next words. " _What are_ _you_?"

Shiromeguri-senpai was looking away at some far off place, her eyes dulled and distant. "I don't know anything about what happened to you, Hikigaya-kun," she answered while looking straight at me, her tone steadfast and certain. She took a huge gulp from her drink and sighed. "Truth be told, you're actually a real mystery to me." Standing up, she dusted her skirt and faced my direction. "And as for what I am... I think I already explained everything to you."

"You can't just up and spout all that fictional crap and expect me to believe any of it," I sighed, palming my face.

"Back then, maybe. But now, what's on your mind?'

I contemplated for a moment, recalling what had pushed me to organize this meeting in the first place. "Lots of questions," I said. "Explain everything to me. In a way I can believe you."

She frowned. "You sure are demanding. And I don't think there's a way for me to convince you to believe anything when you're so adamant to think it's not true." After a brief moment of silence, she shook her head. "But I'll try anyway."

Looking away, she asked, "Remember when I told you that I'm a ghoul?" Her eyes fixed on me, as if waiting for an answer, but I just stared back, tight-lipped. A bitter smile graced her lips as she continued, "That's true, all of it. I'm not human. And by the way I see things, it appears that you aren't fully one either." She pointed a finger at me, then to herself, "Something similar to what I am, but different at the same time."

A gentle breeze blew upon us, swaying her pair of fluffy twin tails. She looked sad, scared and confused. Far from the murdering lunatic I met on that night. If I didn't know any better, that expression would have triggered my protective instincts as it always did. But there was no way it would, of course. Being comfortable around her was as idiotic as petting a wild tiger, thinking it would behave like a kitten.

Shiromeguri Meguri is dangerous and that is the most crucial thing I shouldn't ever forget.

I breathed in, trying to pull myself back on track again. She copied my gesture before looking away, frowning as if remembering something unpleasant.

"Back on that night..." she smiled bitterly, "you said you can't remember what happened. But I do, every single moment of it. I remember when you started acting strange, I remember when you suddenly attacked me, when your left eye changed "

"Hold on," I hurriedly cut her off, blinking. "What?"

She just frowned in return. "When you attacked me "

"No..." I sighed, rubbing my temple. "My left eye," I stared at her, hard, "what happened to it?"

"It changed," she said, sitting back in her previous position on the floor once again but now facing me. "Ghouls' eyes change under certain... circumstances."

"C-Can you describe what it looked like?"

From worried, to curious now, her face showed nothing but a weird mixture of suspicion and understanding. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply and opened her eyes again, focusing them on me. "You saw it for yourself, didn't you?" she smiled. "The eye, I mean."

I nodded and her smile widened even further. "Black sclera, red pupil, popping veins..." After enumerating the exact same characteristics, she put on a thoughtful look, "The difference is that you only have one eye fitting this description. A single _kakugan_."

"... _Red eye_?" I echoed, slightly raising a brow.

"Yes," she nodded, "that's a natural trait of ghouls. It appears when we are excited, or scared, or... hungry."

"That means..." I trailed off, narrowing my eyes. "You have one, too?"

"No," she denied it so fast, I actually ended up sighing deeply in pure disappointment. But soon after, she giggled. "I have two, actually," she clarified, grinning.

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened the girl in front of me looked absolutely offended. "Hey, don't look at me as if I'm the strange one here. It's natural for ghouls to have a pair of red eyes, you know?" Pouting, she added, "At any rate, you're the one that is abnormal, Hikigaya-kun."

"Very funny," I could only snort in response. A murderer called me abnormal, how was I supposed to react?

"You said you can eat regular food, but you have the traits of a ghoul," she continued, seemingly talking to herself rather than with me. "I mean, you can regenerate, I saw how you unconsciously amplified your strength, you even have a kakugan though it's only one.

"More than anything, I can say you're like a half ghoul..." she stopped, shaking her head. "No, no, you definitely are." She looked at me again confused, but smiling, and continued, "Part human, part ghoul."

"I see..."

Hearing that coming from her, I sighed as a sudden surge of relief washed over my chest. The clarification came straight from her and it was a relieving one on top of that.

My body might have changed in some way, making me no longer normal. But, at least, some part of me was still human, right? Who the hell cares about a red eye? At least a part of me was still there and I was grateful for that.

Peeling the relieved smile from my face, I strained my jaw. "This kakugan thingie..." I said, putting on my business look and regarding her with my eye. "Can you... uh, can you show me if you really have two of those?"

She was silent for a moment, looking anywhere but me. Then, after slumping her shoulders and flicking her hair, she squinted her eyes.

"If I show you, will you believe me?"

I smirked, "Depends."

 **~※~**

"Your eyes..." My voice scraped my throat like nails on a bricked wall. Talking proved to be a chore at times like these. I was having a hard time breathing and my hands were shaking. I was surprised, frightened and angry at the same time. "...They really changed."

It was the very same eye. We both have them. Except she has two.

I thought I would easily get over the revelation if I saw her eyes for myself. I thought I could take it all in well, because I already saw that look on my own face and convinced myself it wasn't all that scary.

But no the moment I saw her eyes slowly get smeared in black, I began to shake and right as her red pupils stared back at me, I could say for sure:

There was no way this wasn't scary at all.

Her red, glaring eyes widened for a moment and she sighed, fishing out a compact mirror from her bag. "Look," she said, pointing it at me. "Your eye..."

My reflection was basically a scared face and a weird left eye. As if by unfortunate coincidence, my own eye acted up right after Shiromeguri-senpai willingly changed her own. The sclera became black, the pupil red and so on. It was so similar to hers. I had the same eye as a murderer.

Strength left my body and I pressed my back against the wall for support. There was the same knotting sensation in my stomach again, the very same feeling I had when I saw this eye for the first time. It made me want to puke. No, I really wanted to puke.

I didn't though. I swallowed it all in, letting the filthiness of everything that should have been thrown away contaminate me. Breathing fast, I forced the disgusting, yet familiar, feeling back to where it belonged and, before I knew it, the feeling was gone.

"You can control it... already?" The red-eyed girl in front looked at me in awe, as if I had just done something remarkably great. "That's very unusual, for you."

"Control what?"

"Your kakugan." She pointed her compact mirror at my left eye again. "You made it disappear."

Raising a slightly shaking hand, I took the mirror from her and examined my own face. The red eye was gone, as if it had never been there before. No trace was left behind.

"What do you mean 'control'?" I glanced suspiciously at her. "You can make it vanish, willingly?"

She nodded and her pair of red eyes returned to normal.

"That's pretty convenient for you." I gave her mirror back, she offered a small smile. "By the way," I cleared my throat, "I don't understand. Why did it show up to begin with?"

She looked thoughtful. "Maybe because you got scared... or angry. I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I just know that it occurs when you're having intense emotions."

Reflexively, I thought back to the first time this eye acted up. What had triggered it again? Oh, yes, a fucking knife going straight for my gut. In other words fear of death. Intense emotions acted as a trigger. Well shit, that made sense.

Shiromeguri-senpai sighed and sat on the floor, with her position closer to me than before, but still keeping her distance. "So, um, what do you plan to do, now?" she asked, offering her handkerchief to me as I realized I was sweating buckets.

I shook my head at her but she just pressed it into my hand, so I had no choice but to accept it. Her pink handkerchief had embroidered butterflies flying on tiny spirals. It was so feminine and pure that I really had a hard time touching it.

She lent it to me, though. Yes, it wouldn't be a problem.

I gingerly wiped the sweat on my forehead with it. The scent eerily reminded me of Komachi and I pretended not to notice. "I need to find a way to stop this, to know how this all happened and why this is happening," I said firmly, staring straight into her eyes. This would sting a bit for her, but I needed to say this. "I want to do anything to stop myself from being a monster."

Like you.

Shiromeguri-senpai winced, but she offered a bitter smile. "Yes, of course..." she sighed, hanging her head.

No more sugarcoating, it was the truth. Shiromeguri Meguri was a monster and I didn't want to end up being like her.

After breathing deeply, she sighed. "I can..." she trailed off and I knew for sure what she was about to say next. I had come to know this pattern very well, thanks to Nishino. "I can help "

"I'm doing this alone." And so, I decided to break the momentum. I appreciated the thought coming from her, but, on top of the fact that I didn't trust her at all, I also didn't plan to involve anyone else in this mess.

"Then what, Hikigaya-kun," she said, her tone obviously tinged with worry, "you ll dive in and swim blindly?"

That s exactly what I was about to do, but it s not like I had any choice at all. I knew it was more practical to go off and exploit Shiromeguri-senpai's guilt for my own use but I couldn't do so. It was stupid, but, believe it or not, I was partially concerned about her safety. Yes, I was being mindful to a person who tried to kill me.

Blame my damned brotherly instincts for that.

She continued, her tone more serious and urgent than before, "This world you're thinking of treading alone is uncharted territory, at least for you. You've known you're different for how long a week?" Now, she was mocking me. Wonderful. "If you're careless, you might even die. Ghouls are dangerous, Hikigaya-kun, and you know that."

 _Yes, thanks to you, I know that._

"I have been living like this for eighteen years straight," she said, as if it was a curse. Which it might actually be, in hindsight. "I may not know everything, but I'm sure I at least know something that can help you."

I considered her words for a moment, scrutinizing her carefully. Shiromeguri-senpai is a ghoul and I am definitely sure of that fact. It appeared that, in a way, a part of me is one too. However, I am not a full-blown monster like her which I'm thankful for. Point is, if ghouls do really exist, that means there are more of them lurking around the corners.

Ghouls were extremely dangerous and this upperclassman of mine was right on that. She proved it to me herself that night and I was still scared of her. But that was not the only problem here. It was true that this girl was merciful enough to spare my life back then, whether she did it willingly or not, but that didn't mean all ghouls were like her.

By a random stroke of bad luck, what if I had encountered one who was ruthless enough to actually kill me? I might be a half ghoul just like she said, but a good part of me was still human. I don't have the will nor the capability to fight, much less kill, as she does.

"Why are you even trying to help me?" I narrowed my eyes sharply. "Didn't you just try to kill me a week ago?"

"...Exactly. I'm doing this to atone for what I've done," she whispered, bowing her head. "I want to prove that I am genuinely sorry, Hikigaya-kun," she offered a small smile. "At least let me do this much for you."

Her help would be very useful but one thing was hindering me from accepting it. "Then give me a reason to trust you."

"I can't give you anything..." she looked disappointed for a second before smiling again. "...But I can say I trust you, at least."

"I hate to break it to you," I couldn't stop myself from snorting, "but your trust doesn't really mean anything to me."

"No, that's wrong," she denied with a straight face. "Trusting is a task for both sides involved. It's supposed to be mutual, Hikigaya-kun." She clasped her hands together, looking at me with expectant eyes. "I think... I think that if I make you feel that I genuinely trust you, maybe... just a tiny bit, you'll also trust me in return."

"I don't mean to sound harsh... but, after all that's happened," I shook my head at her, "I think it will be a long way before I ever trust someone like you."

She bit her lip and looked away, her eyes hardening a little. I breathed in, out and changed the subject. "And why are you even trusting me?" I asked, quirking a brow. "What's that got to do with all this?"

"You may have not realized this... and I'm sure you won't like this either," she muttered, looking anxious. "But you've done myself and um... my father a really huge favor."

A surge of laughter came out of my lungs, despite trying my best to suppress it. "Y-You mean by not reporting your murder case to the police?"

Lowering her head, she nodded and I ended up snickering at that.

"I actually planned to, you know?" Widening her eyes, she looked up in surprise. "But then, there was that nasty sham with the principal and the school guard and I realized there's no point going against someone who can coerce the school into keeping silent about a murder."

There was no response and just when I thought she was not going to speak for herself at all, she muttered, "...Not us."

Intrigued, I raised a brow, "...Pardon?"

"I mean..." she was chewing her lower lip, "we're not capable enough to pull that off."

"Then, who did all that?"

As if on cue, the bell signalling the beginning of school hours rang throughout the hallways and reached the rooftop. I looked at the time on my phone. A half hour had passed. We talked for that long?

Shiromeguri-senpai appeared as if she understood what was going on in my mind. "After school?" she offered.

I shook my head. "After club," I replied.

 **~※~**

It was after classes and I was sitting at my usual position in the clubroom, holding my novel but not reading at all. The resident chatterbox was babbling about something I couldn't will myself to care about. I was distracted, extremely so, and it was a good thing that my clubmates were also busy with their own stuff.

This whole day, starting from the morning before class, had been stressful in all concerns and I actually would have chosen to skip club for once, if it were possible.

My head was cluttered with a bunch of ugly and confusing things matters involving unanswered questions and distressing revelations.

Shiromeguri-senpai proved herself very useful in relaying needed information. Not only did she patiently explain things that confused me, she even gave me the golden opportunity to see her proof with my own eyes.

However, things didn't go as well as I anticipated.

By talking to her, I realized something very crucial.

I should have known that, the moment she told me she was different from anything I expected, she was telling the truth.

Shiromeguri Meguri is not human, and if that's the case

Then that means I am not one either.

 **~※~**

"Hikki? Hey, Hikki?" Yuigahama's voice shook me out of my inner thoughts. No, not just her voice, actually. She was also rocking my shoulder from behind. "Earth to Hikki?"

A cluster of words and unfamiliar paragraphs greeted me as my vision gradually cleared from its dazed state.

I remembered I was supposed to be reading a book, but I got drowned in a sea of my own worries. I began looking around, reminding myself of where my mind should be at the moment.

Yuigahama was eyeing me with a concerned look as she went back to her seat and, surprisingly, Yukinoshita was doing the same as well.

"...Oh, hey," I said as I glanced around. "Is something the matter?"

"You were the matter." Yuigahama's tone was a cocktail of accusation, worry and confusion. She sighed while slumping her shoulders. "You were spacing out for ages, Hikki. Something wrong?"

"Nothing, just..." I shook my head, "just thinking about something."

"Come on..." she said with a disapproving look. "Here I was talking to you but your head's flying elsewhere. So was I, like, talking to air the whole time?"

Well that s what you're doing most of the time, actually. "Sorry, what were you saying again?"

"I was asking you about your date!"

"Oh, that was..." I blinked, "not a date at all."

"Typical reaction coming from you." Yukinoshita, who had been silent until now, snapped her book shut and narrowed her eyes. "Give Hikigaya-kun a girl merciful enough to voluntarily make him feel normal for a day and one can still expect him to not have been grateful at all."

"Just what is there to be grateful about?" I took a sip from my cup, which I realized was empty upon doing so. Yukinoshita stood up and stretched her hand. I hand her my cup. "Really, I didn't see that as a date at all." She filled it with another round of steaming tea and handed it back to me. "I said I was kidding when I first called it a date, didn't I? Give me a break already."

"Well..." Yukinoshita sat back on her seat. "Date or not, tell us about it."

"Seriously? You're asking for more?" I asked in surprise as I blew on my cup. It was unusual for Yukinoshita to act this way, since it was typically only Yuigahama who questioned about the details.

"I'm curious," she said, while tilting her head.

"See, Hikki? Even Yukinon wants to know," Yuigahama grinned approvingly at Yukinoshita, who just frowned in return. "Come on, tell us!"

"Nothing exciting really happened..." I took a sip from the now cool enough tea, before continuing to explain as nonchalantly as possible. "Just walked to a cafe, chatted about books and other, you know, bland adolescent stuff."

Yuigahama raised a suspicious brow. "That's all?"

"Well..."

"Well?" Yuigahama insisted with a determined look and, in the corner of my eye, Yukinoshita appeared to have a similar expression.

"We, uh..." I sighed, "we actually had a bit of an argument."

Suddenly, Yukinoshita giggled. "Arranged a meeting with a childhood friend after many years and then proceeded to start the day with an argument," she smiled. "Simply wonderful, Hikigaya-kun. You astound me."

Unlike Yukinoshita, Yuigahama was far from amused. "Y-You fought...?"

"Nowhere near physical, Yuigahama," I clarified as Yukinoshita composed herself. "Just clashing opinions. We patched things up in the end, though."

"Well," Yukinoshita, now back to her usual self, asked curiously, "what did you argue about?"

I sighed, picking up the book I was reading earlier. It was _Dear Kafka_ by Takatsuki Sen, one of the books Nishino had lent me. I hadn't heard of the author before but her unusually dark and twisted way of writing interested me. And for Nishino, of all people, to recommend this kind of book actually made me somewhat curious.

Anyway, speaking of her, I looked back at my clubmates. "It's not really my place to tell you two about it," I said while shaking my head. Then I snapped up sharply after thinking up of an idea. "Maybe you should go ask her yourself? Why not invite her here one of these days? Maybe the Literature Club needs help?"

Yukinoshita frowned at that. "Literature Club?"

"Oh yeah, forgot to tell you." I just remembered. "She's the president of the Literature Club."

Yukinoshita's eyebrows knotted even tighter at that and it seemed likely that she was thinking hard about something. Yuigahama noticed it, of course, and scuttled her chair closer towards Yukinoshita's direction with a curious look.

"Something wrong, Yukinon?"

Yukinoshita snapped out of her trance as Yuigahama tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh..." she mumbled, frowning at me. "...I thought the Literature Club was disbanded this year."

So that was what bothered her? No, it was actually more surprising that she knew something as trivial as that.

"I knew one of the previous members. She graduated this year and I remember her inviting me once to join the Literature Club..." she continued, still frowning, "...since only third years were present and they couldn't recruit any new members."

"So, when they graduated, there weren t any members left?" I supplied, earning a confirming nod from Yukinoshita.

"Yes, that's why I assumed it was disbanded."

"But Nishino's there. No way it could be disbanded."

"Maybe they recruited new members at the last minute?" Yuigahama suggested and we both looked at the girl in question. That was very unusual of Yuigahama, I must say, to give a surprisingly possible suggestion. Yuigahama looked back, startled, "Um, did I say something... wrong?"

"No, you might actually be right." Yukinoshita smiled gently at her.

I nodded, too. "That's probably the case."

Yuigahama beamed at us and clapped her hands together. Then she started babbling about another topic once again, prompting me to flip open the cover of my book, although I didn't plan to resume my reading at all. This was more of a cover for me, a ploy to make myself appear calm and distracted while thinking about something else.

 _Literature Club? Disbanded? What does that mean?_

* * *

 _ **Kakugan: red eye.**_


End file.
